The Bug and the Bird
by Danny vs A Month
Summary: Sasuke wasn't the only Uchiha to survive the massacre. But when an innocent soul is subjected to so much blood and hate, can it still remain pure? A.N.: REWRITE OF NOT ALONE THIS TIME.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

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Things Expected

The morning was warm. There were birds drifting lazily through the air, the song of birds filled the air, joined by the chirping of insects, and the laughter of children as they played. Ryuu smiled as he watched the birds flying overhead. He didn't play like the others. He didn't want to. He preferred to just watch the birds.

He sat up as one flew down, landing on his right knee. It had a sapphire blue back, white on its stomach, black just above its beak, and a rusty brown just below the beak. It cocked its head, staring up at him and he grinned widely, reaching out and gently stroking its stomach for a moment, then its back. He felt something brush his neck on the left side and looked over, seeing a bird with a dark brown back and lighter brown stomach perched there, also staring at him. He smiled even wider, eyes scrunching almost shut as he whistled a couple notes. The bird on his shoulder cocked its head for a moment as it listened before mimicking the notes. Ryuu laughed happily as it did before whistling a few more notes. Again the mockingbird mimicked him before the other bird chirped out a song of its own, the mockingbird singing harmony. Ryuu laughed as they did, whistling his own tune along with theirs, copying some of the bird calls he had heard. Finally a shadow fell over Ryuu and the birds both took off, Ryuu looking up to see Sasuke, one of his friends, looking down at him. He smiled and Sasuke sat down beside him, watching the birds disappear into the trees.

"Why do they sit with you but run from me?"

"I dunno," Ryuu shrugged, watching as a mosquito flew down to land on his hand, biting him. "Hungry little guy?"

"Why don't you just kill it? You'll itch later if you let it bite you."

"He's not hurting anything," Ryuu shrugged. "He's just hungry. What if someone wanted to kill you for being hungry?"

"But...it's a bug," Sasuke said.

"All life is important," Ryuu said.

"But it's a bug," Sasuke repeated.

"And just what are the two of you discussing?" a voice asked as Ryuu's older brother walked toward them with Sasuke's older brother.

"Big Brother!" Ryuu cheered, jumping up and running to his brother, jumping at him and hugging him, nearly knocking him over.

"Careful, you're getting bigger, you might hurt me," his brother said.

"Nuh uh! You're invincible Big Brother!" Ryuu beamed up at him.

"Invincible huh?" his brother laughed. "I don't know about that."

"You heard him Shisui," Itachi laughed. "Invincible."

"No one can beat my Big Brother," Ryuu said. "Even you Big Brother Itachi."

Itachi laughed and Ryuu's eyes lit up as he remembered the birds.

"Big Brother, guess what!"

"What?" Shisui asked, smiling.

"A Barn Swallow and a Mockingbird sang to me!" Ryuu beamed.

"Oh really?" Shisui asked, smiling. "What'd they sing? Row row row your boat?"

"No!" Ryuu laughed.

"Mary had a little lamb?"

"No!"

"Jingle Bells?"

"No!" Ryuu laughed. "Birds can't talk! They just chirp!"

"Oh, of course, how silly of me," Shisui smiled before sighing. "Are you ready for training?"

Ryuu's smile fell but he sighed and nodded. "Bye Big Brother Itachi. Bye Sasuke."

Both said their goodbyes and Ryuu followed Shisui back to their home, the pair making their way into the sparring room inside. Shisui slid the door closed, walking to the the ring and turning, waiting for Ryuu.

"Let's see what you've learned in class, shall we?" Shisui asked.

"Big Brother, why do I have to become a ninja?" Ryuu asked.

"There are some things that are just expected of you," Shisui said. "In our clan, being a shinobi is one of them."

"But...I don't want to hurt anyone," Ryuu said.

"I know you don't," Shisui smiled sadly. "You're so innocent that animals that flee from most people are willingly drawn to you. I know you hate the idea of hurting anything. But being a shinobi is just something you have to do."

Ryuu sighed and nodded, stepping into the ring and bowing, as did Shisui, before taking a basic stance that Shisui himself had taught him. Then, Shisui darted forward, throwing a punch at him. Ryuu ducked under it, Shisui throwing a knee at him. Ryuu managed to block it with his forearms and Ryuu pulled the leg back before Ryuu could grab it, throwing an elbow down at him instead. Ryuu turned sideways, stepping out of the way, then catching the crook of Shisui's elbow, pulling downward and forcing Shisui to roll, ending up outside of the ring. Shisui stood, smiling proudly.

"Impressive," Shisui smiled. "Your reaction time and agility have improved. But in a real fight, you have to attack as well. You can't win if all you do is dodge and defend. Attack me, Ryuu. I'll only defend for now."

Ryuu hesitated before darting forward, jabbing. Shisui blocked it, frowning, but almost as soon as the punch landed, Ryuu's opposite foot snapped up in a kick. Shisui blocked that as well and Ryuu flipped, clasping his hands and bringing them down at Shisui's head. Shisui caught his hands and Ryuu flipped to the ground, switching his own hands to Shisui's wrists and spinning, hurling Shisui a couple feet where he landed in a roll, regaining his feet and turning toward Ryuu just as Ryuu landed a punch to his gut, except that Shisui didn't even flinch.

"You're fast," Shisui smiled, the smile not quite reaching his eyes. "That's good. You might actually have inherited Kagami's speed. But your strikes have no power. I know you don't want to hurt anyone, Ryuu. I know you don't want to hurt me. But you have to learn to fight properly. In case you have to defend someone you care about one day."

"I'm trying," Ryuu said. "Honest."

"I know," Shisui smiled. "Here, practice hitting the training dummy. That way you don't have to worry about hurting someone while you work on putting force into your strikes."

Ryuu nodded, walking over to the straw dummy off to the side, pulling on the padded gloves Shisui kept with it and beginning to practice. Shisui watched him train, activating his sharingan to gage how he was doing. His strikes still weren't truly as powerful as they should be, but they _were_ stronger than what he had been throwing against Shisui. Finally Shisui stopped him, leading him to the kitchen where he made him a snack.

"After lunch we'll start in on your jutsu training," Shisui said. "What kind have you been learning about most recently?"

"We've been working on Sealing jutsus and Ninjutsu," Ryuu said.

"Alright, then I'll teach you about Genjutsu and the Body Flicker Technique. I think you'll pick them up quickly."

Ryuu smiled and nodded. He liked the idea of Genjutsu. Being able to fight without harming anyone was perfect for him. That was why he also enjoyed Sealing jutsus. Once finished, Shisui led him back to the training room, this time beginning on jutsu training. Once they were finished with that, Ryuu having demonstrated a few basic seals he had learned and having picked up a couple of basic Genjutsus, they called it a day and headed to the dining room for dinner just as their parents got home.

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	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

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Class

Ryuu sat in his usual seat behind Sasuke. Within seconds, Ino and Sakura, two of the more talented girls in the class despite the fact that they cared too much about being attractive and not enough about being a ninja, sat down on either side of Sasuke, with Naruto, an orphan who everyone seemed to unanimously hate for no reason, seated on the opposite side of Sakura, who he had a mountain-sized crush on. Personally, Ryuu liked Naruto. His family had warned him not to talk to him, of course, but Shisui had told him that Naruto was hated for something he couldn't control. After hearing that, Ryuu had taken it upon himself to try and help Naruto, giving him what extra help he could manage in basically everything, since Naruto was usually ignored by the teachers, besides Iruka who spent almost as much time yelling at Naruto as he did teaching.

Sasuke didn't seem to particularly like or dislike Naruto, though Naruto saw Sasuke as his rival, and Sasuke saw Ryuu as his greatest challenge. He and Sasuke were fairly even with everything they did, besides taijutsu. Because Ryuu refused to attack, Sasuke was usually named the winner for that. The others who stood out in the class were a boy named Shikamaru who was a certifiable genius but who was too lazy to actually do anything, Choji who was rather large but who was extremely peaceful, not unlike Ryuu himself, unless called fat, at which point he would get very angry and beat up almost anyone who said it. Then there was Kiba Inuzuka who was from the village's dog handlers. They each had one or two ninken that they used as partners for everything. Kiba himself had his puppy, Akamaru, riding around on his head. Next was Shino Aburame, who stood out specifically for being so completely average that he was basically nonexistent. He wore a trench coat to cover his body all the time, except for his eyes, which were covered by dark sunglasses instead, and his messy brown hair. Ryuu wasn't sure what the Aburame clan was, but kept forgetting to ask Shisui. Ino was from the Yamanaka clan, who specialized in some kind of jutsu that let them read minds, or something to that effect. Sakura was over all very intelligent, but lacked any real drive or skill in anything but tests and chakra manipulation. Lastly, there was Hinata Hyuga. Him he recognized instantly by the way her pale eyes were constantly glued to the back of Naruto's head, to an almost creepy, stalkerish level. Not that He would ever use those words to describe Hinata herself. Timid, hiding, nervous, and lacking self confidence was more accurate. Her hair was kept in a short Hime style, and she was always wearing a sweatshirt that was probably a size too big. She was good though. Good at tests, good with weapons, good at hand to hand combat, when she wasn't too nervous to try. If she had confidence, she might have been one of the top in the class. The rest of the class was made of of the average, run-of-the-mill, stereotypical students who were practically clones of the students in the class before them. Ryuu couldn't remember many of their names, but he liked them well enough.

Ryuu looked to the door as Iruka walked in, taking care to check the top of the door for a chalk eraser or a bucket of water. That was Naruto's fault. He had a habit of pulling pranks on pretty much everyone. Not because he truly thought it was fun, or for entertainment. He did it for attention. He did it because if he didn't, almost no one would know he existed. Ryuu felt bad for him. He couldn't imagine what it would feel like to have no one. And he didn't want to.

"Good morning everyone," Iruka began. "Today, we're going to be learning the Clone Jutsu."

"Why that one?" Naruto asked. "Why can't we learn something useful, like the fireball jutsu, or some awesome Earth-Style jutsu. You know, something that you can actually use to fight."

"Shut up Naruto!" Iruka shouted. "I'm teaching the class and I'll teach whatever I feel like! besides, the Clone Jutsu is very useful in combat!"

"Yeah right!" Naruto retorted. "Maybe for hiding! Or running away!"

"Be quiet idiot," Sasuke said. "It's a distraction, allowing you to successfully land a blow without needing to expend the chakra required for a stronger jutsu."

Naruto stared at him for a moment before adopting a glare. "I know that!"

"Anyway, as I was saying, the Clone Jutsu."

* * *

Ryuu watched as Naruto tried for the fifth time to try and create a passable clone. He would give him points for stamina, but he was terrible at control. It wasn't the first time they had done the Clone Jutsu. And yet, still Naruto couldn't create one that was worth the amount of chakra it took to make. Finally, Iruka simply sent him back to his seat. Then, he walked to the board, drawing out a seal.

"Who can name this seal?" Iruka asked.

"It's a paralysis seal," Ryuu said, raising his hand.

"Can you tell me which?" Iruka asked.

Ryuu stared at the jutsu, thinking hard. They had learned it already. He just had to remember which it was. Finally it came to him. "It's the Unbreakable Chains seal. The more force you put into movements, the harder it becomes to move. But if you don't try too hard, movement is still possible, though restricted."

"Very good Ryuu," Iruka nodded. "And this?" He drew another, Sasuke's hand beat Ryuu's this time.

"Fire Suppression Seal," Sasuke said. "A high level seal created by the Hidden Leaf's Master Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin for the purpose of suppressing Fire Style Jutsus."

"Excellent," Iruka said. "How about a hard one?"

He drew a seal on the board that Ryuu didn't remember being taught. He stared at it for several moments. "It's a Contract Seal. It's placed on a shinobi who has summoned something into a battle. The seal then voids the contract the summoner has, releasing the summoning animal from their control."

"I'm impressed Ryuu," Iruka nodded. "That's right. In a battle against summoners, this could be one of the most useful seals you have. Having a summon could be the difference between victory or defeat. This seal can also, however, be used as a sort of block for a summoning jutsu itself, if used on the summoning animal. It would send the summoning animal back to its own realm, where it would be unable to fight. It would then be stuck there for a duration of time until the seal fades. Depending on the summon, the time varies. However, common lengths range from a half hour to a day."

"Sensei, quit joking around," Naruto spoke up. "Everyone knows Sealing Jutsus aren't really that useful in combat. That's why we should be learning Ninjutsu! Or even Taijutsu!"

"We just learned Ninjutsu and Taijutsu yesterday," Ryuu said. "Sealing Jutsu and Genjutsu are scheduled for today. You should pay attention, Naruto. My brother says the Uzumaki clan was famous for being able to use seals to fight. And besides that, if your opponent can't move, it's that much easier to fight them, right?"

Naruto stared at him for a moment before nodding and turning back around, remaining silent this time.

"Thank you Ryuu," Iruka said. "Alright, today, I'll be showing you a number of storage seals, and one low-level paralysis seal."

* * *

Ryuu stared up at the birds slowly circling overhead. He smiled slightly as a bright-colored one flew down to perch on his shoulder. He reached up, stroking its feathers lightly before looking back to the sparring ring. Iruka had finally given in to Naruto's urging to go over Taijutsu again. Naruto had payed perfect attention through the Sealing Jutsu portion of class, which was why Iruka decided to agree. Granted, it was at the rule that Naruto also had to pay attention when they went over Genjutsu as well. Ryuu doubted Naruto would be good at Genjutsu. He didn't seem like he was a Genjutsu type, since they were generally calm and controlled. But if Naruto _was_ going to be able to use it, he was going to need to pay attention so he would know how.

Sasuke and Naruto stepped into the ring and Naruto reacted the moment Iruka began to match. He swung wildly, barely being more than a brawler, but it _was_ a vast improvement from the first time Ryuu had watched them fight. He had taught Naruto a little Taijutsu after class a few days and he had picked it up well. This time, instead of being over in about two seconds, the match lasted thirty. Still, Sasuke won with only Naruto having broken a sweat. Next, Hinata and Ryuu were called into the ring. Ryuu sighed as his feathered friend took off and walked to the ring, Hinata stepping in opposite him. They had sparred before, so she knew she didn't have to be afraid of him fighting back. Really anyone fighting him was closer to them training to hit a very quick target.

"Begin!" Iruka said.

Hinata darted forward, jabbing a palm strike at him and he stepped out of the way, pushing her hand away and crouching just before her other elbow passed over his head. As he stood, she spun, kicking at him and he blocked it. Then, she threw another palm strike at him only for him to release her leg and grab her arm, spinning and sending her staggering out of the ring. She regained her balance and turned back to him, both making the Sign of Friendship. Then, they returned to the others as Sakura and Ino entered the ring, knocking each other unconscious, as always. Finally, the matches were over and they returned inside, Naruto keeping good on his promise and actively paying attention, even taking notes. Finally, the day ended and they all left the academy, Ryuu and Naruto heading to a field where Ryuu could train him without anyone watching. They started with Taijutsu, Ryuu teaching him for roughly an hour on that alone, then moved to Sealing Jutsus. Once again they trained for an hour. Then, they moved to the Clone Jutsu. Here Naruto began to fail miserably. Finally, after two hours, Ryuu called it a day.

"Keep working on it Naruto," Ryuu said. "I have to get back home to train with my brother. See you tomorrow."

Naruto waved as he left and Ryuu returned to his house, making it just in time to step into the training room at the same time as Shisui.

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Leave a review. Let me know what you think so far, and how it's doing compared to the original, if you've read it. If you haven't, you don't have to but feel free if you want.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

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Acting Strange

Ryuu stared up at the sky, watching the birds drift about, a few simply hovering in place as the sun warmed them. Sasuke glanced over at him then up at the birds.

"Why are you so obsessed with birds?" Sasuke asked.

"I want to fly," Ryuu said just as he looked toward the park's gate, seeing Shisui walking toward them. He sat up, smiling widely and ran over, hugging him.

"Time to head home, Ryuu," Shisui smiled.

As they walked, Ryuu glanced at Shisui. He was quiet, unusually so. And he wasn't smiling as much. The smile was there, but there was something off about it.

"Is everything okay Big Brother?" Ryuu asked.

"Absolutely," Shisui smiled down at him. "Everything's going to be fine."

Ryuu fell silent and soon they were home. Shisui led him to the living room where their parents were waiting.

"Happy birthday!" both said, smiling.

Ryuu grinned widely. He had forgotten that it was his birthday. He really didn't care much about it. It was just a day that he didn't have to train to fight. He liked having a day off, but he got them at other times too, so it didn't matter much. He sat down at the table, staring at the three presents on it. He didn't usually get presents. Only if he had done something very good, like the time he successfully used the Fireball Jutsu for the first time. He had passed out immediately afterward, but they had been impressed enough for him to be rewarded with presents. He wasn't sure why he was getting them now.

"Go ahead and open them," Shisui smiled.

Ryuu picked up the one from his father, a small box about the size of a kunai pouch. He saw why when he pulled out a trench knife from it. The knife was about seven inches in total length with four holes for his fingers in the back, the blade a straight curve extending up over the finger holes. There was a small slit in the back of the knife on either side of the finger holes, though he wasn't sure why. It also came with a kunai pouch. He grinned widely.

"Thank you father!" Ryuu beamed, hugging his father.

"You're welcome," he chuckled. "The blade's made of Chakra Metal, so it can absorb the properties of your chakra to enhance its power and killing potential."

Ryuu's smile faded slightly as he stared at it. He hadn't thought about it as a weapon. Knives were tools. If he had to cut rope or wire, or block a blade. He hadn't thought of using it to hurt someone.

"Open the next one," Shisui urged, seeing what Ryuu was thinking all over his face.

Ryuu nodded, opening his mother's next. It was a larger box, big enough for a soccer ball to fit in. When he opened it, however, he found clothes and a pendant with the Uchiha crest on one side and the kanji for "family" on the other. He pulled the necklace on, holding the pendant in his hand. It was small, barely larger than a coin. Then, he pulled the clothes out, laying them out. They different than he was used to. Usually he wore the standard outfit of an Uchiha. A plain dark blue shirt with the Uchiha clan crest on the back and dark blue pants. These were slightly different. There was a short-sleeved black shirt with a strip of white up the sides and over the shoulders, black pants reaching about mid-calf, black sandals with the toes exposed and everything else covered that reached to the bottom of his pants, and a pair of black gloves with thick leather knuckles. He grinned as he inspected the outfit.

"Thank you mother," Ryuu smiled.

"You're welcome," she smiled. "Now your brother's."

Ryuu opened the last box, one about the same size as the one from his mother, and pulled out a tanto and harness. It was just a straight, single-edged tanto with no tsuba but Ryuu instantly recognized it. He looked up at his brother, clutching his brother's tanto as though it might break.

"You're giving me your tanto, Big Brother?" Ryuu asked.

"You'll probably put it to more use than I will," Shisui smiled. "Besides, tantos can block a sword's blade more reliably than a knife can."

Ryuu smiled widely at the explanation and nodded. He hugged his brother, Shisui smiling and hugging him back. Then, after a few moments, he pushed him back, smiling.

"Alright, I have to go and see the Hokage for a minute. Why don't you have Father teach you how to wield that while I'm away?"

Ryuu looked to their father who chuckled and nodded. Ryuu cheered running into the training room and turning to wait. After a minute, his father stepped into the room, now holding a tanto of his own.

"Now, the tanto is a very useful weapon. It can be used in a wide range of styles and battles, as well as in confined spaces. It's easily concealed compared to a sword, and has more range than a knife."

Ryuu nodded, listening to his father speak, then as his father explained the basics. He followed his father through countless basic techniques, working to memorize them before moving on to more advanced ones. Then, finally, his father turned to him.

"Alright, it's time for me to go to the clan meeting," his father said. "You stay here and keep practicing."

"Why can't I come to the meetings?" Ryuu asked.

"It's just a bunch of boring political stuff," his father smiled. "Nothing that would interest you. Maybe when you're older. For now, keep practicing. That way when your brother gets back you can impress him."

Ryuu smiled, nodding and returning to his training. He trained for several hours before heading to the front door. The Uchiha district was still completely deserted. He sighed, heading to bed. Within a few minutes, he was asleep.

* * *

"Ryuu, It's going to be okay."

"Big Brother?"

"It's alright, Ryuu. Everything's going to be fine. Things may not seem to make sense, and a lot of things are going to change. But it's going to be okay. Whatever happens, just stay true to yourself and you'll be alright."

"Big Brother, I don't understand."

"You will. Now, it's time to wake up."

* * *

Ryuu's eyes slowly creaked open and he looked around. He could hear muffled sobbing from the kitchen. He climbed out of bed, walking down the hallway to the kitchen, staring at his mother and father, his mother sobbing and his father holding her.

"Mother?" Ryuu said, both looking at him. "What's wrong?"

"That bastard Itachi...killed your brother!" Ryuu's father said.

"What?" Ryuu blinked. "Big Brother? Where's Big Brother?"

"He's dead, Ryuu," his father said. "That bastard Itachi crushed his eyes with a rock and threw him off a waterfall. He murdered him."

"He's...dead?" Ryuu repeated, staring at his parents, uncomprehendingly. "What do you mean?"

"YOUR BROTHER IS DEAD! ! !" his father thundered, standing. "HE'S GONE! ! ! AND HE'S NOT COMING BACK! ! ! AND IT'S ALL ITACHI'S FAULT! ! !"

Ryuu stared at him before lowering his head, staring at his feet. That couldn't be right. His brother was invincible. And Itachi was a friend. He never would have killed Shisui. He couldn't have.

Ryuu turned and walked back to bed, lying down and staring at the ceiling. Time dragged by before light began to seep through his window. Finally, he jumped out of bed. Shisui had to be home by now. He could make them understand. He'd show them he was alright and their father could stop yelling. Their mother could stop crying. He slid the door opened and stopped. The bed was empty and unused. Everything was exactly as it had been. Ryuu walked to the desk, finding a piece of paper with writing on it. He picked it up, reading it, then walked out to the kitchen where his mother was making breakfast, an empty expression on her face.

"Mother, what does this mean?" he asked, holding out the note.

She turned, taking it and promptly began to sob. Ryuu's father stepped into the room after a minute and took the paper reading it before rage blossomed on his face.

"That bastard! He used his Sharingan to forge a suicide note! I'll see him hanged for this!"

He stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him and Ryuu turned back to his mother.

"What does suicide mean?" Ryuu asked.

"Don't you ever say that word again!" his mother shrieked. "Go to your room!"

Ryuu's brow furrowed in confusion but he did as he was told.

* * *

Ryuu stared at the coffin as it was lowered into the hole. He didn't understand. He tugged his father's sleeve.

"Father, why are they putting Big Brother in the ground?" Ryuu asked. "He's just sleeping."

"No, he's dead!" his father snapped, keeping his voice quiet.

Ryuu looked back at the others and soon, the hole was filled in and people began to tell his parents how sorry they felt. Sasuke walked over to stand in front of him.

"Why did they bury Big Brother?" Ryuu said.

"He's dead," Sasuke said simply. "He's going to see God."

Ryuu stared at the recently filled hole again. As he was, a hand settled on his shoulder. He looked, finding the Hokage standing before him.

"I'm sorry," Hiruzen said. "I know this must be hard."

Ryuu simply nodded and Hiruzen walked away. As he did, Ryuu looked past him, spotting Itachi. He was standing apart from the rest of the clan, keeping his distance. Ryuu walked over to him, staring up at him.

"Big Brother Itachi," Ryuu said before hugging him.

Itachi hugged him back, sighing.

"How come all the adults think you hurt Big Brother?" Ryuu asked.

"Because they don't trust me," Itachi said. "I'm sorry that he's gone, Ryuu. I couldn't protect him."

Ryuu sniffed and Itachi sighed, hugging him again as Ryuu finally began to cry.

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Leave a review. Oh, and two things. Firstly, please recommend this story to people. Secondly, leave a review with ideas for different summoning animals. Not all for Ryuu, I have his chosen already, but for others. Can be any animal/creature and any character to go with them.


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

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Alone

Ryuu stared blankly at the board. He knew what Iruka was teaching. His father had already taught him. It was an offensive Wind Style jutsu. He had learned it quickly, and his father had been proud. But it still hadn't been enough. He wasn't Shisui. His father was always reminding him of that. Shisui was gone. They kept feeling the need to tell him that. As if he didn't know. As if every time he saw the door to his brother's room he wouldn't remember. As if he didn't still wait in the park for his brother to come and pick him up before remembering that his brother wasn't coming. He knew Shisui was gone. But still his family seemed to think they had to remind him.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked, twisting around in his seat.

"Yeah," Ryuu mumbled, looking to the window, seeing a Barn Swallow sitting on the window sill.

He turned back to the board, remaining silent through the rest of class before heading home, climbing to the roof and laying down, staring up at the birds as they flew overhead. He wished he could fly. It had always been his dream. Maybe there was a jutsu to let him. If nothing else, he could always transform into a bird. Or an insect.

"Ryuu, come down here!" his father shouted from below.

Ryuu stood, walking to the edge of the roof and dropping to the ground. He stood, looking up at his father. "Yes Father?"

"It's time for your training!" his father growled. "We're working on your tanto abilities today."

Ryuu nodded obediently and followed his father into the sparring room, drawing his tanto as his father picked up his own. Ryuu readied himself, eyes scanning his father's form as he readied himself as well. Then, his father charged, shooting across the small circle and slashing at Ryuu. Ryuu deflected the tanto, rolling around his father and standing, blocking a second slash. His father punched at him and he turned sideways, catching his father's thumb then ducking between his legs, pulling the hand with him before standing, his father's arm now between his legs. He pushed his father, who stumbled out of the ring then turned around.

"What the hell was that?" his father demanded. "Use your fucking tanto! Don't be a goddamn coward! By your age, your brother could mop up the floor with almost anyone he fought using that same tanto!"

Ryuu remained silent, staring at the floor. Finally, he nodded, raising his head as his father stepped back into the ring. His father stepped forward and Ryuu charged, knocking his father's tanto aside and slashing. His father leapt over it and Ryuu spun, slashing at him again. His father blocked the slash, landing on his feet and Ryuu slashed again. His father caught his arm, twisting sharply before ramming the butt of his tanto into Ryuu's stomach, dropping him to his knees before kicking him out of the ring.

"You're nowhere near Shisui's level," his father said. "Keep training. If you're all our family has to continue, then you've got a long way to go."

He turned, walking out of the room as Ryuu pushed himself up off the ground, retrieving his tanto and putting it away. He walked out of the house, climbing back to the roof and lying down. After a moment, a crow flew down, landing on his leg and staring at him. He reached out, stroking its feathers lightly and stared up at the sky. After several minutes of this, he finally began to feel at peace for the first time in a very long time. He smiled slightly as he watched the birds above him flying to and fro.

"I miss you Big Brother," Ryuu mumbled. "Why'd you have to go?"

Suddenly, the crow nipped his finger and Ryuu shouted in surprise, sitting up and looking at the crow and the spot of blood on his finger. He stared at it before reaching out and beginning to stroke it again. It didn't bite him again, so he relaxed.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to depress you. I wish I could fly like you do. It must be so much fun up there."

After a few more minutes of sitting there, he stood, the crow crying out indignantly and flying away, then walked inside and headed to bed.

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Leave a review.


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Nightmare

Ryuu smiled to himself as he stared up at the birds above. Beside him, Sasuke watched him carefully.

"You really haven't given up on being a bird have you?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm not trying to be a bird," Ryuu said. "I just want to fly."

"Well, either way I'm glad you're smiling again," Sasuke said. "You've finally begun to act normal again. Well, normal for you at least."

"You're one to talk, duck butt," Ryuu laughed.

He sat up, holding out his arm and whistled. After a moment, a Mockingbird landed on his finger, whistling his tune back at him. He smiled, whistling again, beginning to sing with his newest friend. Sasuke smiled as he watch his oldest friend enjoying himself. He really had come a long way. He wasn't as happy as he used to be, but he was getting there.

"Alright, I gotta go," Ryuu said, lifting his hand and making the Mockingbird take off again. "I can't be late for training."

Sasuke nodded and Ryuu waved goodbye as he ran. When he reached home, he quickly took his sandals off and hurried to the training room, finding his father waiting.

"You're three minutes late," his father growled, slamming a bo staff into his thigh, making him drop to the ground, holding his leg. "Get up!"

Ryuu pushed himself up, picking up his bo staff from the rack and readying himself without a word. His father stepped forward, jabbing at him with his staff, Boruto knocking it aside, blocking the other end as the staff swung around at him. He shoved it away, ducking under the other end and swung at his father. His father blocked it then swept his feet out from under him and slammed him into the ground using his staff. As Ryuu was standing, his father's staff swung up from below, catching him under the jaw and throwing him backward to the ground yet again.

"You're pathetic!" his father spat. "You're not worthy of the Uchiha name! You'll never be like Shisui was! You're a disgrace! You should never have been born! If we had to lose a son, it should have been you! Your brother was a genius! You're just a mistake."

With that, he turned, walking out of the room, leaving Ryuu to curl into the fetal position and cry. It was always like this now. It had gotten worse ever since Shisui had died. His father refused to accept him as their only son. His father wanted him to be Shisui's clone. But his mother was worse. He smelled dinner and stood, drying his eyes and walking out to the kitchen where his mother was finishing setting the table, a pleasant smile on her lips.

"Oh there you are Shisui," his mother beamed. "Wash your hands and sit down. Our darling genius needs to eat to keep his strength up."

"There's nothing genius about this boy," his father snarled. "He's barely worthy to eat our food. Eating it off a plate at the table is a gift."

"Aw, did you two have an argument?" his mother asked. "You've always said Shisui is a genius. You're just being too hard on the boy."

"I've told you before, Shisui is dead!" his father snapped.

"Nonsense," she smiled sweetly. "I think I'd know if the only child I've ever had were dead and not sitting across the table from me."

Ryuu stared at his plate in silence, suddenly not hungry. After several minutes, he stood, returning to his room. His father said nothing, though he could feel his father's Sharingan glaring at his back. His mother, however, didn't even notice as she ate, smiling pleasantly still, thoroughly convinced that Shisui was still alive and Ryuu didn't exist.

Once in his room, Ryuu lay down, staring at the ceiling. Tears rolled silently down his cheeks as he waited to cry himself to sleep, but sleep never came. Then, as the sky was its darkest and the chirping of insects filled the air, drifting in through his open window, the world suddenly went silent. He sat up, staring out the window. Then, he walked outside, looking up into the sky. Usually, owls would be flying around, looking for food. And insects would be flying around, chirping. There was nothing.

A scream split the night suddenly and a bell began to ring instantly. However, by the third toll, it went silent as well. Screams began to ring out all over the compound and Ryuu could only stand there, staring into space as he listened to the scream, terror flooding him. Then, the screams fell silent just before Itachi stepped around the corner.

"Big Brother Itachi!" Ryuu called out, running over and hugging him. "What's going on? Why is everyone screaming?"

He looked up at Itachi, freezing as he saw the blood splattered across his face, and the Sharingan staring back at him.

"Ryuu, get away from him!" Ryuu's father's voice suddenly shouted.

Ryuu looked back at him as his father glared at Itachi, his own Sharingan active and a tanto in his right hand.

"Father?" Ryuu blinked. "I think Big Brother Itachi's hurt. There's blood."

"Get away from him!" Ryuu's father shouted again.

Ryuu looked back up at Itachi, finding Itachi's arm raised, sword pointed downward, just as Sasuke's arm fell. The sound of metal hitting metal echoed through the air just before the sound of something wet splattering across the ground and Ryuu suddenly found himself beside his house again, his father standing over him, sighing in relief and smiling.

"Thank God," he smiled. "I made it in time. Ryuu, run inside. Find your mother. Hide. I'll come and get you in a little while."

Ryuu looked down from his father's face, staring at his right arm, which was missing below the middle of the bicep. "Father...your arm..."

"Go now Ryuu!" he snapped.

Ryuu stared up at him, tears welling up in his eyes as he saw tears running down his father's face.

"I've been hard on you," his father said. "Too hard. I'm sorry. I was so broken by losing one son, that I couldn't see I was pushing away the one I still had. Forgive me for that. You must go inside, Ryuu. Get your mother and hide. I will find you. I swear it."

Ryuu nodded, hugging his father who hugged him back. Then, he turned, sprinting away from him and into the house. He heard metal clashing against metal rapidly, and skidded to a stop in the kitchen where his mother was making a cup of coffee.

"Mother!" Ryuu said. "We have to run!"

"Go and hide Ryuu," his mother said, sipping her coffee, Ryuu noticing a katana on the counter before her. "I lost one son. I'm not losing you also."

"Mom," Ryuu said, fresh tears running down his face.

"I'll always love you, Ryuu," his mother smiled. "Now get going."

Ryuu turned to run just as there was a crash behind him. He stopped, turning to look just as his mother appeared in front of him, katana held at her side. Itachi leveled his own blade at her and she knocked it away.

"Run away Ryuu," his mother commanded. "I'll hold him here."

"Mom," Ryuu whimpered.

His mother shot forward, slashing at Itachi. There was a shower of sparks, then another. Their blades were a blur of steel and sparks. Then, his mother's right arm was sailing through the air, landing on the floor. Still, his mother fought, using her left hand. Neither of them took a step, save to shift positions during strikes. Their blades were moving too fast for him to track. Then, just like that, it was over. His mother's left arm landed on his left, the sword stabbed into the floor between himself and Itachi. Itachi was holding his sword in reverse grip as Ryuu's mother sat on her knees before him, bleeding profusely out of the shoulders.

"Ryuu...run..." his mother pleaded, eyes not leaving the floor.

Then, Itachi slashed, Ryuu's mother's head sailing through the air and landing in Ryuu's lap. He screamed, sobbing and clutching his mother's head to his chest as his eyes burned. Itachi walked forward, his sword in standard grip again and at his side.

"Big Brother Itachi, why?" Ryuu sobbed. "Why did you kill them? Why did you kill Shisui?"

Itachi stared at him in silence for a moment before speaking. "Yes. I killed Shisui. I crushed his eyes with a stone and threw him off a cliff. And now I've killed the rest of your family. I've taken everyone you cared about from you. Do you hate me?"

His only response was Ryuu sobbing anew.

"I see," Itachi said. "Don't worry Ryuu. I'll end this nightmare for you. I'll make it quick so that it doesn't hurt."

Ryuu looked up at him just as there was a flash of light as he slashed, and Ryuu's body went completely numb, slumping to the side, his mother's head still held in his arms. As his vision began to fade, he stared at the floor, his own blood pooling under him rapidly. _I feel like...I'm finally flying._

* * *

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	6. Chapter 6

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Survivors

Ryuu's eyes slowly creaked open, the light from the window briefly making them burn and blinding him before they adjusted. He looked around slowly. He was in a sterile, almost painfully white room. To his left was a heart monitor and oxygen tank with a hose going to his nose, stopping at his nostrils. He looked to the other side and saw a single, once again all white, chair, though it was empty. For a moment, he wondered why his family wasn't there, until the memory of what had happened to him came flooding back. He lifted the sheets and looked at his torso, finding that he was already healed, a single scar running across his lower chest. It had probably just missed any vital points.

"Oh my god!" a feminine voice gasped off to the side.

His head snapped around toward it to see a nurse disappear out the door.

"Migaki, come quick!" the nurse was shouting as she ran down the hallway.

After a moment, the sound of feet pounding back down the hallway reached his ears and the nurse plus a man in a similar uniform burst into the room, freezing.

"Well I'll be," the man breathed before smiling. "You really are one hell of a fighter."

"Who are you?" Ryuu asked.

"I'm Migaki, I was put in charge of you while you were in your coma," the man said. "You're a hell of a fighter, son. You were brought in and stabilized, but you were left comatose from blood loss."

"What?" Ryuu asked, confused.

"You lost so much blood you couldn't wake up," Migaki explained, receiving a nod. "Anyway, after a couple days, your body seemed to just...give up. You died. We managed to get your heart to beat again, but-"

"Who survived?" Ryuu interrupted.

Migaki and the nurse exchanged knowing looks before sighing.

"Only you and Sasuke," Migaki said.

Ryuu's heart fell into his stomach but he nodded. "Please, continue. What happened next?"

"As I said, we got your heart pumping again, but your brain wasn't working," Migaki said. "You were, what we call, brain dead. Everything was working except your brain. We were going to turn off your life support systems but Sasuke put up a huge fuss, begging Lord Hokage to allow you to stay on life support. He claimed you'd wake up eventually. No one believed it, but Lord Hokage finally agreed. He ordered us to keep you hooked up for as long as we could afford to. But, you've been in asleep for a very long time. Lord Hokage finally ordered us to turn the machines off. But then, just as your nurse was walking in to turn them off, she came sprinting out of there like a bat out of hell, screaming for me to get in here. For a minute, I thought maybe someone had slit your throat. But when I got in there, there was brain activity. And you were keeping yourself alive. We unhooked the machines because you didn't need them, but you weren't expected to wake up for a long time yet. If at all. But then she came screaming again and look what I found this time."

"So...You were going to kill me?" Ryuu asked.

"Ryuu, you were already dead," Migaki said. "You've been dead for a year. Your heart was beating because of a machine, but you weren't alive."

Ryuu nodded slowly before looking around again. "Do I have any clothes here?"

"No, but I'm sure Sasuke will be more than happy to get you some," Migaki said. "I'll send word to have him brought here right away."

He hurried out of the room and the nurse took Ryuu's vitals. After about twenty minutes, the door burst open, Sasuke standing in the doorway. Ryuu smiled, lifting an arm. Within seconds, Sasuke had sprinted across the room, hugging him.

"I knew you'd wake up," Sasuke said. "I'll go and get you some of my clothes. They'll be loose on you, but they'll fit better than your old ones."

Ryuu nodded and Sasuke hugged him again before sprinting out of the room. Ryuu looked down at his body, for the first time, actually paying attention to what he looked like. He was skinny. Very skinny.

"Well well, you really are awake," a voice said, Ryuu looking up at the door again, seeing the hokage standing there.

"Lord Hokage!" Ryuu gasped.

"I'm glad you finally woke up," Hiruzen smiled. "You'll need rehab, but I think you can probably resume the academy from where you left off in another few weeks or so."

"From there?" Ryuu asked. "I won't be with Sasuke?"

"I'm afraid not," Hiruzen sighed.

"What if I could learn everything I missed during my rehab?" Ryuu asked. "What's rehab?"

"Basically, you'll be getting your body back to a healthy physical condition," Hiruzen said before thinking. "Well...if you could learn everything...I could allow you into your class again."

"Thank you so much Lord Hokage!" Ryuu beamed.

Hiruzen chuckled. "It won't be easy. I'll have someone be placed in charge of your rehab soon, and I'm sure some of your classmates will be more than happy to help teach you everything."

Ryuu nodded, smiling as Sasuke returned, carrying an outfit for Ryuu. "If I can learn everything I missed, I get to be in your class again when I get out. Can you go see if anyone else will help me learn?"

Sasuke nodded once and dropped the clothes on the bed, running out the door again. Ryuu pushed himself up, finding it difficult to stand, but possible. Hiruzen left to give him privacy and Ryuu dressed himself. Just as he finished, the nurse walked back in, seeing him standing.

"Lord Hokage signed your discharge paperwork," the nurse informed him. "You'll be staying with Sasuke while you go through rehabilitation...rehab. This is the person put in charge of it." She stepped out of the way and a ninja with a sleeveless, high-collared, purple shirt, purple pants, a grey short-sleeved shirt under the purple one, purple gloves reaching up his forearms, and large, round-rimmed glasses walked in. "This is Kabuto Yakushi. He's training to be a Medical Ninja, and he's very skilled. He volunteered to help you."

"Hello," Kabuto smiled kindly. "You must be Ryuu."

"Yes," Ryuu nodded.

"It'll be a pleasure to work with you," Kabuto smiled.

Ryuu nodded, carefully walking out of the room and reaching the lobby just as his classmates arrived. Among them were Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Choji, Shino, and Shikamaru. He smiled as he saw them just as his legs wobbled. Before he could even drop more than an inch, Sasuke and Kabuto were at his sides, holding him up with an arm over each of their shoulders.

"Careful idiot," Sasuke said. "You probably shouldn't be trying to walk on your own."

"Shut up Duck butt," Ryuu smiled. "You all came to help?"

"Of course," Hinata smiled. "You're our friend."

"I'll help him get back into shape!" Naruto volunteered, grinning.

"Well, no one's more energetic than Naruto," Sasuke sighed. "Sure. I'll help out too."

"I may be able to help with the physical aspect of his rehab," Kabuto said as he and Sasuke helped him walk out of the hospital and back to Sasuke's house. "My medical ninjutsu isn't as good as other Medical Ninja, but I might be able to help his muscle restore themselves."

"Okay," Sasuke said.

Finally, they reached his house, helping him inside and setting him on the bed. Shikamaru and Sakura began to teach him first, Kabuto trying to regenerate his muscles with Medical Ninjutsu. Ryuu kept up as much as he could, but a full year of information was a lot. And since Kabuto predicted there would only be a week of rehab, they had to do several months at a time. Finally, they took a break from the classes and Naruto and Sasuke helped Ryuu up, beginning to run him through various exercises. Kabuto had actually helped a lot, and Ryuu was able to do better than he thought. He was nowhere near where he should be, but he was better. Finally, they all called it a day and left. Sasuke and Ryuu took turns showering and Sasuke gave Ryuu some clean clothes to wear until they could buy him his own. Then, he pulled out his surprise to Ryuu.

"Hey Ryuu," Sasuke said, holding out Ryuu's necklace, trench knife, and tanto.

"You...you kept them?" Ryuu gaped.

"Of course," Sasuke said. "I know they were presents from your family, so of course I held onto them for you."

Ryuu hugged him, pulling the necklace on and taking the weapons, smiling as he stared at them.

"Anyway, you can use the spare bed to sleep on for now," Sasuke said. "Tomorrow, me and Kabuto are going to help you with the physical stuff while the others are in class and Sakura's going to give me her notes on what I missed."

Ryuu nodded, smiling. "I'm glad I'm not alone."

"So am I," Sasuke smiled.

* * *

Ryuu grit his teeth, struggling to remain standing. It wouldn't be a problem after two days, if he wasn't holding Sasuke on his shoulders.

"Just a little longer," Naruto said.

"Under normal circumstances, I would say this is pointless," Ryuu said. "This hurts."

"Bear with it," Sasuke said.

"Alright," Naruto said. "Now run with him."

Ryuu grunted in effort, taking several steps before dropping. Sasuke helped him up as Kabuto walked over.

"You look ready to call it a day," Kabuto said.

"Never," Ryuu said, carefully picking up the weighted vest Sasuke had given him to help his leg strength. He pulled it on and turned to Sasuke, taking a basic stance.

Sasuke did the same and Ryuu nodded. Sasuke darted forward, throwing a slow punch at him and Ryuu blocked it. Sasuke dropped, sweeping his legs out from under him. Ryuu grunted as he hit the ground, struggling back to his feet. After several minutes of equally easy defeats, Ryuu found himself unable to stand.

"Looks like that's it," Kabuto said.

"Not...yet!" Ryuu growled, slowly regaining his feet.

"Why?" Kabuto asked. "You obviously aren't going to win. Why try?"

"Because...I have...to be...stronger!" Ryuu growled.

"Why?" Kabuto asked.

Ryuu swept one of Sasuke's punches aside, using his momentum to pull him to the ground. "I need to find Itachi and ask him why he killed my family."

"I don't care why," Sasuke growled, standing. "I'm just going to kill him."

"No," Ryuu said. "You're not killing him. Not yet. First, he's going to explain everything."

Sasuke nodded and stepped forward, punching at Ryuu again, Ryuu moving to avoid it only for his legs to finally give out altogether.

"Okay. Now it's enough."

Kabuto walked over, kneeling and beginning to heal his legs. "You really don't want to kill him? He killed your entire clan. He killed Shisui."

"I know," Ryuu said. "But Itachi wasn't evil, or cruel. He wasn't a murderer. He must have had a reason."

Kabuto shook his head slowly, smiling as he worked. "You really are one of a kind."

After a few minutes, he stopped, sitting back and wiping some sweat from his forehead.

"Alright," Kabuto said. "That's all I can do for now."

Ryuu nodded, taking the vest off and standing. Then, he and Sasuke headed inside, meeting Shikamaru there to continue the knowledge portion of the rehab.

* * *

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	7. Chapter 7

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Welcome Back

Ryuu stepped into the room and smiled as the class unanimously began to cheer. His rehab had taken a total of a week and a half, but it was worth it. He was finally fully healthy again and had gotten new clothes. The outfit his mother had gotten him long since stopped fitting, so instead he went back to the usual black high-collared Uchiha shirts and black pants.

"Welcome back Ryuu!" Sakura greeted.

Ryuu smiled, greeting everyone before taking his usual seat, which was left empty. After a couple of minutes, Iruka arrived, smiling as he saw Ryuu, then beginning his class. As he taught, Ryuu began to stare at the window sill. A couple of birds were sitting there, picking at their feathers. Finally, they were released for lunch and Ryuu walked outside, getting a little ways away from the others and holding his hand out, whistling. Within seconds, there was a Mockingbird on his finger, along with a Barn Swallow on the crook of his elbow, and a crow sitting on top of his head, bending forward to stare into his eyes.

"Hello there," Ryuu smiled. "What're you doing?"

It straightened back up, twisting and messing up his hair before sitting down, the Barn Swallow and Mockingbird beginning to sing to each other. Ryuu held his other hand out to the Barn Swallow and it obediently hopped onto it, allowing Ryuu to sit down and rest his arms on his legs, smiling. He set the two song birds on his knees, beginning to stroke their feathers. After a moment, Sasuke sat across from him and the birds stopped singing, staring at him.

"It's alright, he won't hurt you," Ryuu smiled.

They began to sing again instantly and Ryuu and Sasuke both raised an eyebrow.

"Damn. They're smart. And obedient." Sasuke lay down, staring up at the birds flying overhead. "I never understood why you always wanted to fly so bad."

"If I could fly I'd be free," Ryuu said quietly. "If I could fly, I could get away. I wouldn't have to hurt anyone. I wouldn't have to be a Ninja. There wouldn't be anything expected of me while I flew. Just the freedom of being able to ride the wind. I wouldn't have to worry about not being good enough for Father."

"He was really hard on you, wasn't he?" Sasuke asked.

"Mother was worse," Ryuu said. "Father wanted me to be my brother's clone. Mother thought I was my brother. She thought I never existed. We all broke a little when my brother died. She broke the most."

"I'm sorry," Sasuke said. "That can't have been easy."

"It wasn't," Ryuu said. "But it was helpful. I know most of what we're learning now."

"I suppose," Sasuke nodded.

"How do you do that?"

Ryuu looked to the side, seeing a girl from the class ahead of them staring at him. She wore her hair in a pair of buns and wore a qipao.

"They just like me," Ryuu shrugged. "Want one?"

She nodded, sitting down and he cleared his throat then whistled. There was a loud sporadic flapping sound before a duck that looked to have been splashed with several colors of paint at once landed in her lap, looking up at her.

"Wow!" she breathed, stroking its feathers. "Its beautiful. What is it?"

"A Mandarin Duck," Ryuu said. "He likes you."

The duck was making a low vibrating cooing sound, like it was purring. She smiled widely as she petted it. Ryuu smiled as well. Finally, the bell rang and Ryuu and the girl began to stand slowly, the two song birds and the duck taking off but the crow remaining.

"You have to go too," Ryuu said, poking it.

It squawked at him and shifted itself before tucking its head under its wing. He sighed, picking it up off of his head and carrying it inside, holding it in his lap and stroking it lightly as it slept.

"You have a pet now?" Ino snorted.

"Looks like it," Ryuu shrugged. "Did he poop on my head?"

"No you're clean," Ino said.

Ryuu nodded as Iruka walked in, beginning the class.

* * *

The class walked outside and gathered around the sparring circle, Ryuu still holding the crow in his arms. Iruka called them, two at a time, into the sparring circle, starting with Sakura and Ino. Once again, it was a tie. It seemed some things never changed. After them was Choji and Shikamaru, Shikamaru simply stepping out of the circle instantly, as always. Then, Naruto and Kiba got called in. This fight surprised Naruto, and others, apparently. It started off as an even match. Until Naruto surprised Kiba with one of Ryuu's techniques. As Kiba threw a jab at Naruto, Naruto caught his wrist, bending it downward at the same time as crouching and pushing up on the elbow, flipping Kiba and hurling him out of the ring. There was a stunned silence for a moment before everyone began to cheer.

"Awesome job Naruto," Ryuu smiled.

"Thanks," Naruto smiled.

"Ryuu and Sasuke," Iruka said.

Ryuu sighed and turned to Hinata. "Can you hold my crow for a minute?"

Hinata nodded, taking the crow from him gently and Ryuu walked to the ring, meeting Sasuke inside of it and readying himself.

"Begin!" Iruka instructed.

Sasuke acted instantly, slamming a blistering hook into Ryuu's jaw. Ryuu staggered to the side before spinning, planting his feet and catching a jab. If Sasuke wanted to fight him full force, then Ryuu would give him what he wanted. He twisted Sasuke's arm outboard, swinging a knee up and stopping at the elbow.

"Broken elbow," Ryuu said as he spun Sasuke around himself, tripping him and knocking him to the ground, grabbing the other arm in an arm bar and then tapping his foot against it. "Both arms." Then, he knelt, placing two fingers to Sasuke's throat. "Throat's slit. You lose."

"Damn, you are fast now," Sasuke sighed, looking up at him only to freeze. "Ryuu...your eyes are..."

"What?" Ryuu asked.

"Your Sharingan..." Sasuke said.

Ryuu raised a hand to his eyes, eyes widening. "I have...sharingan? How many tomoe? How?"

"Two tomoe," Sasuke said. "I think...When Itachi..."

"Oh," Ryuu breathed. "I wish I had known."

Sasuke nodded and Ryuu closed his eyes, feeling the drain on his chakra from his eyes and forcing it to stop.

"Alright, Shino and Hinata next," Iruka said.

Ryuu accepted his crow back and Hinata stepped into the ring with Shino. The fight was short, though. Hinata didn't have enough confidence to go all out, so she was defeated in a couple of seconds by ring out. Once the fighting was over, they returned to the classroom to be tested on several jutsus, including the clone jutsu. Unfortunately, Ryuu found that Naruto still couldn't perform it. He had, however, excelled at Sealing Jutsus. After that was over, they were released for the day. Ryuu walked to the park and sat down, still carrying the crow.

"You're really going to make me keep you aren't you?" Ryuu sighed. "Alright. I suppose I should name you then. How about Raven?"

The crow picked its head up to stare at him before pecking him lightly.

"Hahaha, alright, Crowe then," Ryuu laughed, receiving another peck. "Corvus?"

Another peck.

"Well what do you want to be named?" Ryuu asked before thinking. "How about Yomo?"

The crow cocked its head at him before squawking and tucking its head under its wing again.

"Alright then," Ryuu smiled. "Yomo it is."

He walked back to his and Sasuke's house, beginning to make dinner, since it was his turn.

* * *

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	8. Chapter 8

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Genin

The Graduation Exam had been decided. Transformation Jutsu and Clone Jutsu. Ryuu was worried. Not for himself. He knew he'd be fine. But Naruto still couldn't produce a functional clone. It had been four years already since Ryuu had woken up, and yet he still hadn't managed to teach Naruto the Clone Jutsu. Naruto had excelled at learning any and all Sealing Jutsus he was taught, and he could turn into a very realistic nude female version of himself, enough to pass the exam at least, but the Clone Jutsu remained his Achilles Heel. Ryuu had used his Sharingan to watch Naruto do it once. It seemed like his problem was that he couldn't restrict his chakra enough. He ended up using too much.

"Alright, everyone out in the hallway to wait," Iruka announced. "I'll call you in one at a time."

Everyone went outside, lining up with Sasuke, Ryuu, Naruto, and Hinata being the last four. One by one, everyone walked inside. Then, a few minutes later, they all walked back out, leaving with a massive grin and a headband bearing a forehead protector with a Konoha leaf symbol. Finally, Sasuke stepped out, nodding to Ryuu and tying his headband on.

"Wait for me," Ryuu said, walking inside.

Outside the door, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Choji were all waiting still already. Once inside, Ryuu stopped in front of Iruka, instantly transforming into his brother.

"Perfect, as always," Iruka said. "Can you do anyone else?"

Ryuu transformed into Iruka and Iruka nodded. Then, Ryuu released his transformation, creating a clone instead.

"Alright," Iruka nodded. "As expected, you pass with flying colors."

Ryuu bowed, accepting his headband before stopping, staring at it. Naruto wouldn't be getting one. Maybe ever.

"Sensei, Naruto can't perform the Clone Jutsu," Ryuu said.

Iruka sighed, nodding. "I figured. If that's the case, he'll fail."

"Sensei, Naruto's amazing at Fuinjutsu," Ryuu said. "If you test him on that, he'll pass. As anything above a new genin, the Clone Jutsu isn't even that useful so...please test him on a Sealing Jutsu."

"You really want him to pass, don't you?" Iruka asked.

"Yes," Ryuu nodded. "He's worked very hard the last few years. You had to have noticed. He is ready to be a shinobi. He just can't perform the Clone Jutsu."

Iruka was silent for a while before sighing and nodding. "Alright, which would you recommend?"

"The Paralysis Seal we learned first," Ryuu said.

Iruka nodded. "Very well. For Naruto's sake, I will."

Ryuu nodded and Ryuu left the room, nodding to Hinata to go. She did so and after a couple of minutes, she walked back out with her own headband around her neck. Naruto walked in and she turned to Ryuu.

"He can't do the Clone Jutsu," Hinata said.

"He'll be okay," Ryuu said. "I talked to Iruka Sensei. He's going to test Naruto on a Fuinjutsu instead since Naruto's excellent at them."

Hinata's face lit up instantly before she quickly forced her face neutral again. "I should go and meet my father."

"Wait," Ryuu said, Hinata stopping. "You're going to wait for Naruto. He may be completely oblivious, but the rest of us aren't. We know how you feel. And if I can help it, Naruto's going to smarten up. But for that, you have to stop being too shy to talk to him."

Hinata's face was the color of a tomato by now, but she nodded. Sasuke grinned at Ryuu who rolled his eyes.

"Shut up Duck Butt," Ryuu said. "I'm going to smarten you up too."

"To what?" Sasuke snorted. "Sakura or Ino?"

"Just in general idiot," Ryuu grinned.

Sasuke rolled his eyes just as they heard the window bang open inside the classroom.

"Naruto! Naruto get back here!" Iruka shouted.

Ryuu threw the door open, seeing Iruka leaning out the window.

"What happened?" Ryuu asked.

"I had him try the Clone Jutsu first, to give him one more chance, but when he failed he left before I could tell him that he could pass with a Fuinjutsu!" Iruka explained.

"Dammit Naruto," Ryuu growled. "Sasuke, let's go."

Sasuke nodded, both leaping out the window and spreading out to try and find Naruto. Ryuu checked the field where he and Naruto usually trained first, followed by all of Naruto's usual hang out spots. Sasuke checked the places Naruto usually went to hide. Finally, they met up back at the Academy, both shaking their heads.

"Where'd that idiot go?" Sasuke growled.

"Where'd it go!?" a voice shouted.

"Don't tell me that idiot actually managed to steal the Scroll of Sealing!" another shouted.

"No way," Ryuu said. "Really?"

"Why would he?" Sasuke asked.

Ryuu and Sasuke stared at each other for a moment as both realized where he'd take a scroll filled with high-level jutsus that he probably wanted to learn. Both turned, hurrying to the forest on top of the Hokage Monument using a wooden pathway off to one side. Once up top, Ryuu and Sasuke spread out again, hurrying into the forest. Ryuu moved quickly, using his natural speed to his advantage, looking around quickly as he ran. Naruto was an idiot, but he wasn't a thief. He also couldn't have known what the Scroll of Sealing was without having been told. Ryuu knew because his brother had told him about it. Naruto didn't have Shisui as a brother. But if Naruto was told, it wouldn't have been out of the goodness of someone's heart. Stealing the scroll was considered treason.

Ryuu stopped as he heard a shout of pain off to the side and sprinted in that direction. As he ran, smoke suddenly filled the trees ahead of him and he stopped in a tree, staring at the sea of Narutos now filling the trees ahead of him. Below them, Iruka and Naruto were on the ground, Iruka with a gigantic shuriken sticking out of his back and Naruto over him, glaring up into a tree in the center of the sea of Narutos. Ryuu looked up, seeing Mizuki, one of their instructors, standing there, a second massive shuriken on his back, looking around at the Narutos in fear and shock.

"Clone Jutsu?" Sasuke asked, landing beside Ryuu.

Ryuu activated his Sharingan, staring at the clones. "Shadow Clone Jutsu. I see."

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"Naruto's problem with the basic Clone Jutsu was that he uses too much chakra," Ryuu said. "With this one, you have to use a lot of chakra, so it would be perfect for Naruto. He's got enormous chakra reserves."

Sasuke nodded as the clones all leapt at Mizuki, beginning to beat him senseless rapidly. Ryuu actually felt bad for Mizuki, even though Mizuki was clearly a traitor, given Iruka's condition. Finally, the beating ended, Naruto placing the same paralysis seal he was supposed to be tested on on Mizuki, leaving him unable to move as Naruto helped Iruka up, Sasuke and Ryuu also helping.

"Naruto," Iruka said, Naruto looking up at him as Iruka took his headband off, giving it to Naruto. "Earlier, I was going to pass you if you could use a Sealing Jutsu. But learning the Shadow Clone Jutsu on your own, that's much more impressive. You've more than earned this."

Naruto smiled, putting the headband on and grinning widely.

* * *

"Today, as long as no one decides to cause any trouble," Iruka's eyes settled on Naruto for a moment before a smile spread over his face and he shook his head, continuing, "you'll all be assigned to teams. Those teams will then meet with a preassigned Jonin captain. Now, I'm going to say this in advance. All teams have be prearranged. There will be no switching or trading."

Ryuu waited patiently for his name. However, as the names continued, he found himself still waiting, although most of the others in the class that he liked best hadn't been called yet either.

"Squad Seven, Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki," Iruka stopped as Naruto stood up cheering, Sakura hanging her head in despair, "and Sasuke Uchiha."

Naruto and Sakura reversed roles.

"Next, Squad Eight," Iruka continued. "Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame."

Ryuu swallowed, doing some quick math. There were four of them left. Himself, Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino.

"I hope I get Ryuu on my team," Ino said. "And I suppose Choji would do. Anything would be better than being with you." She glared at Shikamaru who rolled his eyes.

"Team Ten, Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara-"

"Hah! Did you say something about not being in my squad?" Shikamaru laughed, grinning at her wickedly.

"-and Choji Akimichi," Iruka finished, Ryuu's gut dropping. "Ryuu, stay after. I need to speak with you."

His gut dropped further as he felt everyone's eyes on him. He nodded and Iruka passed out slips of paper with the Jonin captains' names on them along with where to meet them. Then, the others all filed out of the room and Ryuu walked down to stand in front of Iruka.

"You're not being kept off of a team as a punishment," Iruka said. "We had too many for even teams. In addition to that, your brother left a will that had a specific request for how you should be trained once you graduated. He wanted you trained by an ANBU member."

Ryuu's eyes widened and he looked up at him in surprise.

"You're teacher has already been selected, well, actually they volunteered, but you will be training with them in place of a Jonin captain. For missions, no you're not accompanying them on ANBU missions. you're going to be going as...let's call it an attachment, to other teams. Not necessarily all of the time, and not any specific group. But you will be going on missions. You just don't have any one specific team."

Ryuu nodded and Iruka handed him a piece of paper.

"Meet your ANBU master here at the time it says," Iruka said. "Oh, and I'd be prepared for a ridiculously painful training routine. ANBU tend to be...merciless."

Ryuu nodded, bowing. "Thank you Sensei."

He turned, walking out of the room and to his and Sasuke's house to get his ninja tools and tanto, then to the field the paper described. It was a small one not far from where the Uchiha District had been. Once there, he drew the tanto, passing the time by practicing with it. Over the years, he had become extremely proficient with it, though nowhere near the level his brother had been.

"You've got some excellent moves," a voice said, Ryuu turning to see a female ANBU with long violet hair and a cat mask. "Especially for a genin who just graduated the academy. I suppose your brother is probably responsible for that as well, isn't he?"

Ryuu nodded, sheathing the tanto and bowing. "Are you my master?"

"I am," she nodded. "By special request of your brother."

He looked up at her in confusion.

"You brother was brilliant," she said. "At times, it seemed like he knew he'd be gone by the time you graduated. So before he died, he asked me to train you, and wrote into his will that he wanted you trained by an ANBU so that I could. He also left me a few scrolls with a bunch of jutsus, information about using the Sharingan, and even a summoning contract. We'll start with the Summoning Jutsu."

She pulled out a scroll, setting it down and unrolling it, revealing several boxes with names written in blood with fingerprints below it. He walked over, scanning the names. Both Itachi and Shisui had their names on it. Ryuu knelt, understanding what to do, and drew his tanto a couple inches, cutting his thumb with the blade before wiping the blood off with another finger before writing his name and then putting blood on all of his fingers, placing the fingertips on the page below his name. He stood and the ANBU rolled the scroll back up, the scroll bursting into smoke.

"Alright, the jutsu itself is relatively easy," she said, going through the hand signs slowly. "Once you've performed the signs, use the hand you signed with and push chakra out through your palm. At least, normally. You would also need to have blood on that hand. However, the summoning animal you just signed a contract with is a bit...special."

"What animal?" Ryuu asked.

"The crows," she said, Ryuu's eyebrows rising as he thought of Yomo, who was currently in its cage in his and Sasuke's house. "They don't require hand seals or blood to summon, after the first time. Your brother has more than a dozen techniques and jutsus involving crow summons in the scrolls. They're very helpful."

Ryuu nodded and took a breath before wiping a little blood on his palm, going through he hand seals and setting his hand down, pushing chakra out through it. A cloud of smoke instantly shot out from under him, leaving a giant crow under him, Ryuu now crouching on its back.

"Wow," Ryuu breathed. "It's huge."

"Maybe you're just small," the crow said, looking back at him.

Ryuu blinked in surprise as the crow stared at him. "Did you just speak?"

"Of course," the crow said. "I better be able to, I'm the leader of the Crow clan."

"Oh," Ryuu said before smiling. "So, what's your name?"

"Name?" the crow asked. "I don't have a name. Who names a crow? That's just weird. Just call me boss."

Ryuu blinked before nodding. "Um...sure."

The crow nodded. "You'll do." Then, the crow exploded into smoke.

"Um...was that normal?" Ryuu asked.

"He's like that. Anyway, I'm going to train you in kenjutsu next. I'll give you the scrolls when you're done."

Ryuu nodded, drawing his tanto as the ANBU drew her katana. Then, she shot forward, slashing at him. He blocked it, redirecting her sword to the side and she spun, slashing at him again. He blocked it again, shoving the blade upward, then stepped around her as she slashed downward at him. He caught her wrist at the bottom of her slash, pulling it behind her and twisting, making her sword drop before spinning and making her stagger away. She spun, stopping herself and staring at him.

"So the rumors are true," she said. "You really don't attack anyone, do you?"

"I hate fighting at all," Ryuu said. "It's why I like Genjutsu and Fuinjutsu so much. I don't have to hurt anyone that way."

"That's...admirable," she said. "But...if that's true, why would you want to become a Shinobi in the first place?"

"...It was...expected," Ryuu said. "I had to be a shinobi to honor my family."

"I see," she nodded. "You probably won't be following in your brother's footsteps then. He was ANBU. One of the best I ever met."

"My brother was ANBU?" Ryuu blinked. "I didn't know that."

"No one did, except a handful of other ANBU," Yugao said. "He was careful about it. He wanted you safe, so he made sure no one knew. Even you."

Ryuu smiled slightly. "What's it like to be an ANBU?"

She stared at the ground for a long while. "It's awful. ANBU get dangerous missions. And ones that...push the limits of what's morally right. Spying on friends, assassinations, killing friends sometimes. Aside from that, you watch your friends die. A lot. As an ANBU, you have to watch your friends die, one by one until you find that you have no friends left. You find that you are utterly and completely alone. If you're lucky, you can save maybe one. And then you cling to them for all your worth, trying desperately to keep them alive. But in the end, you know that you're going to lose them too. Death is inevitable."

"I'm sorry," Ryuu mumbled.

"It's alright," she said. "I still have the love of my life. Nothing will take him from me. At least...not yet."

"Yet?" Ryuu asked.

"It doesn't matter," she said. "We're supposed to be training you, not talking about me. Now, attack me. Like you mean it. I need to make sure you're capable of it."

Ryuu nodded, swallowing hard before charging, slashing at her rapidly. She blocked and deflected each strike, the pair slowly ending up moving around and around the field until she finally tripped him, placing the edge of her sword to his throat, the hand holding his tanto pinned under her foot.

"Impressive," she said. "You're very good. Better than I gave you credit for."

Ryuu nodded silently. She watched him thoughtfully for a moment.

"You know, one of your brother's best techniques was his Body Flicker Technique," she said. "He was so fast, he could make afterimage clones."

Ryuu's eyes widened as he tried to imagine it.

"All of them were as real as an actual clone. But without needing the chakra of one," she said. "But if attacked, they would be just an afterimage. It was amazing."

"It sounds it," Ryuu agreed.

She smiled, drawing a kunai in reverse grip. "Draw your knife. I'm going to teach you a more advanced fighting style. Just in case you need it."

Ryuu nodded, drawing his trench knife, Yugao whistling.

"I like it," she smiled. "Alright, it's pretty common sense. Let's see how fast you pick it up."

She shot forward, her sword meeting his tanto in a shower of sparks.

* * *

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	9. Chapter 9

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

First Mission

Ryuu flipped as his ANBU master's sword flashed under him before landing and spinning, slashing his trench knife at her, the ANBU blocking it with her own knife before slashing downward at him with her sword. He blocked it with his tanto again before shoving her knife aside and slamming his palm into her gut, a paralysis seal shooting across her body instantly. Her eyes widened behind her mask and he stood, placing the tip of his tanto to her throat. Then, he released her and she nodded, lowering her sword.

"Impressive," she smiled. "You've gotten very good."

"Thank you," he nodded.

"I know you don't like attacking," she said. "But sometimes you don't have a choice."

"I know," Ryuu said. "And I know there are people I would kill to protect. It doesn't make it any easier."

I know it doesn't," she sighed. She stopped for a moment before pulling her mask off.

Ryuu's eyes widened. She had told him the first day that he might never see under her mask, since ANBU were supposed to keep their identities hidden.

"My name is Yugao Uzuki," she said. "It's nice to meet you properly."

He smiled, nodding and sheathed his tanto and trench knife.

"Alright, have you been practicing the jutsus I taught you?" she asked.

He nodded. "Wind Style Air Bullets, Vacuum Blade, Wind Style Gale Palm, and Wind Style Wind Scythe."

"Good," she nodded.

Just then, someone dropped into the clearing behind her and she put her mask back on, turning to him. Ryuu looked and smiled, seeing Iruka.

"Ryuu, you've got a mission," Iruka said.

Ryuu nodded, jogging over to him then turned, waving to Yugao who waved back. Then, Ryuu followed Iruka to the Hokage's office, finding Hinata's team was present. He stepped up beside Hinata and she gave him a quick smile before turning back to the Hokage.

"There you are Ryuu," Hiruzen greeted, smiling. "I've decided to attach you to Team Ten for an escort mission. It shouldn't be a difficult mission, by any means. However, you need to be able to work with a team, and for that you need experience on a team. I believe you all will work well together. In addition to that, I believe I heard that you were interested in learning Genjutsu. Your temporary captain, Kurenai Yuhi happens to be the village's best Genjutsu specialist."

Ryuu glanced at her, the first thing his brain registered were her piercing, blood red eyes that reminded him of Sharingan. He turned back to Hiruzen, bowing. "Thank you for this opportunity, Lord Hokage."

Hiruzen chuckled and nodded. "You're welcome. As I said, I don't expect much danger at all on this mission, but perhaps that will give you chance to run team-building exercises."

Kurenai nodded and the Hokage dismissed them. They all walked outside and Kurenai turned to him.

"As Lord Hokage said, I'm Kurenai Yuhi, Team Ten's Jonin captain," Kurenai said, Ryuu taking in her appearance as she spoke.

She was beautiful, even his preteen brain could understand that, with messy raven hair down to her waist, those piercing red eyes, pale skin, white dress looking to be made of wrapped strips of cloth, the top of the dress being cut low and the bottom ending high, a mesh-armor shirt under it, a red shirt with only a right sleeve under that, bandages wrapped around her upper thighs for shorts, and bandages around her hands and forearms.

"I've heard from my team that you're very skilled, but that you were unlucky enough to be left without a team," Kurenai said. "That's actually the reason I suggested you coming along with us for this."

"Thank you," Ryuu said, bowing slightly. "I'll do my best to be useful."

"Oh don't worry about that," Kurenai smiled. "Once we're on the way, I'll teach you what I can about Genjutsu, however, I can't teach you any that use the Sharingan. Kakashi Hatake will have to teach you those."

"Hatake?" Ryuu asked.

"Oh, I suppose you wouldn't know," Kurenai said. "Kakashi Hatake was wounded when he was younger and an Uchiha friend of his gave him one of his Sharingan."

"He just gave up one of his eyes?" Ryuu asked.

Kurenai was silent for a moment before answering. "He...he was dying when he gave him his eye. It was during the last Great Ninja War. Obito Uchiha didn't survive that battle. He saved Kakashi's life at the cost of his own."

Ryuu's eyes widened before he nodded. "I see. Thank you for letting me know about Kakashi."

Kurenai nodded and cleared her throat, deciding to get things back on track. "Anyway, everyone go home and pack for several days on the road. It's a three day round trip to the Hidden Waterfall Village."

Ryuu nodded, curious about why they were headed there but deciding to ask later. They all left, heading to their homes and packing. Ryuu, deciding he didn't want to carry a backpack, simply sealed everything he needed into three storage seals in a scroll, then took Yomo out of his cage.

"Ready Yomo?" Ryuu grinned. "We're heading on a mission."

Yomo turned to look at him and opened its beak as if it were yawning before closing it and flying from his hand to his shoulder, staying there. He chuckled, walking to the Main Gate where the others were just arriving.

"Where are your things?" Kurenai asked.

Ryuu held up the scroll, unrolling it to show the seals and Kurenai's eyebrow rose.

"Good idea," Kurenai nodded. "Alright then. Everyone, allow me to introduce the client."

She held her hand out, indicating a man wearing a short-sleeved blue shirt with black down the center, black gloves with a metal splint on the back of each, a grey pauldron on the left side with a leather strap across his torso diagonally, light grey pants, a Hidden Waterfall Village headband, and black sandals.

"This is Shibuki," Kurenai introduced. "The current leader of the Hidden Waterfall Village."

"Hello," Shibuki greeted.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Hinata bowed. "My name is Hinata."

"I'm Kiba," Kiba said, grinning cockily.

"My name is Shino," Shino said.

"Ryuu Uchiha," Ryuu said.

Just as he did, Yomo squawked and shot forward, streaking past Shibuki's head, Shibuki shouting in fear and crouching, hands over his head. After a moment, Yomo returned, holding a chunk of frog in its mouth, judging by its leg.

"This is Yomo," Ryuu introduced, holding a hand up for Yomo to set the dead frog on while it ate. "He won't hurt you. Yomo, you really couldn't find anything cleaner to eat?"

Yomo pecked him on the side of the head and he rolled his eyes.

"You have...a pet crow?" Shibuki asked.

"That's right," Ryuu nodded. "Why?"

"It's...a crow," Shibuki said.

"And?" Ryuu asked.

"Well...nevermind," Shibuki said. "Let's just get going."

Ryuu nodded and they all walked out of the village, Yomo quickly finishing its frog and Ryuu tossing whatever it didn't eat away. As they walked, Kurenai explained how Genjutsu worked to Ryuu, then demonstrated a few basic ones, like hiding something from view, and a few more complex ones, like taking someone's equilibrium. Ryuu began to practice the basic ones, quickly getting the hang of it. After several hours, the sun began to set, so they stopped, setting up camp for the night. Ryuu unsealed his tent from his scroll, setting it up quickly, then beginning to help Kiba, who was struggling horribly with it.

"Thanks," Kiba said when they finished.

"No problem," Ryuu said.

They set up a watch schedule, Ryuu taking first watch while the others settled in for the night. Once the sun began to rise, they packed up their tents, continuing. After roughly half a day, they reached a small pond against a cliff with an enormous waterfall falling into it and trash floating on the surface.

"Alright, this is as far as you're all going," Shibuki said. "I refuse to let anyone know how to get into my village. You can all get lost now. Your mission's over."

"Lord Shibuki!" a voice shouted as several children ran over.

Shibuki turned to them, smiling as they crowded around him, laughing and cheering. Ryuu grinned. Even as a coward, Shibuki was a hero to the children.

"Lord Shibuki, are you gonna help us clean up the trash?" a young girl asked.

Ryuu saw Shibuki freeze before glancing at them and sighed.

"Actually, I happen to have the perfect helpers for you," Shibuki said, turning to them. "Leaf Ninja, you are to stay and help clean up."

"Is that so?" Kurenai asked. "Well, technically, our mission was only to escort you here. I suppose we could, for an extra fee."

"Deal," Shibuki nodded.

"As you wish," Kurenai nodded. "Well Team Ten, let's get to work, shall we?"

The others all nodded and Ryuu walked out onto the water, the others staring at him in shock, Kurenai included.

"You already know how to walk on water?" Kurenai asked.

"My brother taught me to climb a tree early, so my Master taught me this," Ryuu explained, beginning to pick up trash. "I guess it'll be pretty helpful."

Kurenai nodded, joining him on the water. The others stuck to picking up garbage on the shore, the five of them putting the garbage in bags held by the children. As they were nearing the end of their work, a messenger bird flew down, landing on Kurenai's outstretched arm. She took the message, the bird flying away, and her eyes widened.

"There's an emergency Jonin meeting," Kurenai said. "Looks like we're going to have to cut this mission short."

Ryuu looked around, seeing that they were almost finished. "We can finish up on our own, Sensei. There's not much trash left, and all we're doing is cleaning. We can head back once we're finished and meet you at the village."

Kurenai considered for a moment before nodding. "Alright. Shino, you're in charge while I'm gone."

Shino nodded and Kurenai turned, leaving for the Hidden Leaf. Ryuu returned to his work, the others doing the same a moment later. After about another twenty minutes, they were finished. Ryuu walked off of the water, dropping the last of the garbage into the bag.

"Alright, now go away!" Shibuki snapped. "I'm not revealing my village's secrets to anyone!"

"It's alright, we're not interested in the village's secrets," Shino said. "Have a nice-"

"Lord Shibuki!" a weak voice cried out, terror thick in it.

They all turned, seeing a wounded woman limping toward them, a kunai sticking out of her side.

"Mom!" one of the children shouted.

Ryuu sprinted forward as the woman began to fall, catching her and gently setting her down, inspecting her wound. "She's going to be okay. It's not fatal, as long as you bandage it as soon as you take the knife out."

"Lord Shibuki! The village...it's under attack!" the woman said. "It's...it..."

Her eyes fluttered closed and Ryuu pulled an ace bandage and gauze out of his tool pouch, drawing his knife and cutting her shirt off about halfway down her abdomen so he could bandage her wound. Then, he pulled the knife out, pressing the bandage to the wound and wrapping the gauze around her quickly, tying it off.

"Done," Ryuu said, standing. "Okay, Shibuki, what do you want to do?"

"I-I...u-uh..." Shibuki stammered.

"We'll help," Shino said. "Why? Because it's the right thing to do."

Ryuu nodded, turning to Hinata. "Can you get the children and her somewhere safe?"

Hinata nodded, carefully lifting the woman onto her back and turning, running back toward the Hidden Leaf Village. Ryuu turned back to Shibuki.

"Okay, let's head into the village," Ryuu said.

* * *

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	10. Chapter 10

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Hero

"How do we get into the village?" Kiba asked.

Ryuu pointed at the waterfall. "The entrance is behind that. Right?"

"How did you-"

"You glanced at it when you were talking about how to get into the village," Ryuu interrupted him. "We're a bit pressed for time. Do you want to try and keep it secret, or do you want to save your people?"

Shibuki nodded, running out onto the water and forming several hand seals, the waterfall parting. Ryuu turned to Kiba and Shino.

"It's like when you climb a tree with no hands, but instead of a constant stream, you alter it with the water's motion," Ryuu explained briefly.

Shino stepped out onto the water, standing in place for a moment before nodding. Kiba, on the other hand, crashing into the water instantly. Ryuu sighed, picking him up and turning, running into the village with Kiba over his shoulder, Shibuki and Shino to either side of them. Once through the tunnel behind the waterfall, they entered a massive grotto with a gargantuan tree in the center, the village being a bunch of small buildings spread among the roots. Ryuu stopped, forming a cross with his index and middle fingers of each hand, a puff of smoke appearing beside him as a Shadow Clone appeared and took Kiba, sprinting for shore. Ryuu looked to Shibuki only to find he had disappeared.

"Okay then," Ryuu sighed. "Shino, we should go and investigate the village."

"We need to do it quietly," Shino said.

"Then we should swim," Ryuu said.

Shino nodded, dropping almost silently into the water and Ryuu sank into it silently. Then, he swam to shore, carefully peeking his head out of the water. Just as he did, Kiba crashed to the ground with Akamaru in his arms, the gathered Villagers, all of them bound and sitting together, all staring at him as a shinobi with a grey shirt and scarf, blue overalls, a blue cloth mask over the lower half of his face, and a bandanna with a Hidden Rain symbol landed on him, foot pressing on Kiba's throat.

"You're even weaker than you look," the shinobi grinned.

A moment later, another landed beside him, this one with a tight, sleeveless black shirt reaching up high on his neck, yellow arm warmers reaching halfway up his biceps, a Hidden Rain headband, silver hair, and blue pants. He had Shino over his shoulder and he dropped him beside Kiba instantly, Shino already unconscious.

"Aw, you too Kiba?" Ryuu whispered.

"You're next!" a female voice whispered behind him just before a pair of hands grabbed him, dragging him underwater.

He fought to break free, managing to twist around to face his attacker, finding himself facing a woman with short, light brown hair, a white, very low cut belly shirt under an even lower cut blue top, once again with her midriff exposed, with very loose sleeves, a white strip of cloth hanging halfway down her biceps, and dark blue pants.

Just as he was facing her, she swung a hand out and back, a whip forming from the water, visible only because it was glowing slightly from chakra, and wrapping around his throat. He grabbed the whip, struggling to loosen it before forming hand seals rapidly.

Fire Style, Giant Fireball Jutsu! He thought, exhaling a massive ball of fire surrounded by boiling water.

The woman retreated instantly, but Ryuu had intentionally only hit the whip, allowing him to escape to the surface, then sprint to shore, stopping a ways from the other as the woman joined the other two. For the first time, Ryuu also noticed Hinata and the children with the others, Hinata still unconscious.

"You've got skill," a new voice said as yet another shinobi, this one with a yellow dew rag, a dark blue jacket, green pants, messy black hair to his shoulders, and a goatee appeared in front of the others. "You're tougher than the others. I'm impressed."

"Why are you doing this?" Ryuu asked.

"Because I'm the rightful ruler of this village," the man said. "My name is Suien. I was a Jonin of this village for decades. The strongest. The former leader should have chosen me to succeed him. But when he used the Hero's water, he died, leaving his weak, coward son to succeed him. Now look at this place. How pathetic."

"Lord Shibuki is not a coward!" the young girl whose mother had warned Shibuki and the others about the attack shouted. "He's brave!"

"Is he?" Suien grinned, walking over to her and standing over her, drawing a kunai. "If he's so brave, where is he? Why hasn't he drank the Hero's Water yet and come to save you?"

"What's the Hero's Water?" Ryuu asked.

"I'm glad you asked," Suien said, grabbing the girl by the arm, keeping her in front of him and holding the kunai to her throat. "The hero's water is the treasure of this village, and the key to its defense. It increases the drinker's chakra tenfold. However, doing so also shortens the drinker's life. That's why Shibuki's too cowardly to drink it!" He turned toward the tree, shouting, obviously for Shibuki to hear him. "Isn't that right Shibuki? You're too afraid of dying to even try to save your precious village! Of course, you know I'm here for the Hero's Water! If you were smart, you'd destroy it! But then, the village would be left undefended! And you can't do that! What a choice! The people of the village, or their only means of defending themselves! Tell you what, since only you know where to find the Hero's Water, I'll give you a choice. Bring it to me in the next ten seconds, and I won't kill this little girl!"

Ryuu sprinted forward, streaking past two of the shinobi before they could react, catching the one with the silver hair's punch and hurling him into the other two then grabbing Suien's kunai hand, yanking it away from the girl then twisting it behind him, making him release both the knife and the girl. Then, he spun, hurling him.

Suien flipped, landing on his feet as the other three shinobi landed around him. He readied himself, swallowing. All three of the weaker ones charged at once. Ryuu ducked under the woman's punch, grabbing her by the arm and placing a paralysis seal on her, the seal script shooting over her body, then hurled her into the smaller of the males, blocking a punch from the larger and trapping his arm under his own. Then, he slammed a palm into his side, placing a paralysis seal there as well. Then, just as he was turning to fight the other male, Suien appeared in front of him, slashing with a sword made of water, the blade splitting his abdomen open. He staggered backward, dropping to his knees, eyes wide. Suddenly, both of the others were free and the larger male grabbed him by the collar, lifting him only to slam him back into the ground, slamming his fist into him several times. Finally he stood, Ryuu's vision swimming.

"Well Shibuki?" Suien shouted. "That's the last person that could have helped you fight! Now what will you do?"

"I'm not...done!" Ryuu growled, standing, only to be kicked by the larger male. As he crashed to the ground, he began to push himself up instantly, activating his Sharingan. "I...said...no!"

The male charged with the other three and Ryuu charged, blocking a punch from the larger one, smashing his elbow with a palm strike, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and hurling him at the other two. The woman slid under him and the male jumped over him, Ryuu meeting the male with a foot to the nose. Then, he flipped, landing on his feet behind the woman, grabbing her hair and spinning, hurling her into the other male just in time for Suien's fist to crash into his jaw. He staggered to the side, barely keeping on his feet only for Suien to slam a fist into his gut then a hammer fist into his back as he was lifted into the air from the first punch, blasting him into the ground.

"Do yourself a favor and stay down kid," Suien said. "The last village leader was a stubborn fool too. When I came to kill him, he just kept coming. But his biggest mistake was using the Hero's Water. It ended up killing him."

"You killed our leader!?" someone shouted.

"You're goddamn right I did!" Suien shouted.

"Suien!" Shibuki shouted, suddenly standing on the water, a sword made of water in his hand and chakra shooting off of him in visible waves.

"Finally," Suien grinned, forming a sword of his own and charging.

As they met, their blades crashed, then again and again, over and over in a battle that looked almost like a dance. Until it didn't Just as it looked like Shibuki might win, Suien drove his sword through Shibuki's abdomen.

"Too bad," Suien grinned. "You may be powerful, but I taught you to fight." He reached into Shibuki's shirt, pulling out a bottle of slightly glowing water and chugged several mouthfulls. "Oh yeah!" His chakra began to fly off of him, pushing the water below him away in waves. "Now that's power!"

"Boss, what do we do with the rest of them?" the smaller male asked, now holding the same girl Suien had threatened at knifepoint.

"Kill them," Shibuki said. "I don't need them anymore."

The shinobi nodded, raising the knife. Ryuu's eyes widened as an image of his mother's severed head flashed through his mind. Someone screamed, but before anyone else could react, Ryuu was up, using the Body Flicker Technique to reach the shinobi, slitting the shinobi's throat with his trench knife while catching his arm with his free hand. The shinobi's eyes widened before dulling and Ryuu dropped him, staring at the corpse in shock.

"Kill him!" Suien raged.

Ryuu turned toward the other two just as Kiba appeared in front of the remaining male, slamming a fist into his face, knocking him completely unconscious as Hinata appeared in front of the woman, slamming a palm strike into her abdomen. Ryuu looked to where Hinata had been, seeing Shibuki had dragged himself to her, freeing her. Ryuu turned back to Suien as Suien glared at him, panting with rage.

"I'm going to kill you!" Suien thundered, forming a sword and shooting toward Ryuu.

Ryuu drew his tanto, holding it horizontally in front of himself and exhaling a Vacuum Blade onto it before blocking the water blade with it. He instantly slashed at Suien with the trench knife, forcing him to leap backward. Ryuu chased him, flipping over a slash then turned horizontal, spinning and slashing with the trench knife. Suien sidestepped it, then blocked the Vacuum Blade as Ryuu landed on the water's surface. Suien shoved the blade to the side, slashing and Ryuu blocked the blade with his Trench Knife, shoving it to the side and spinning, slashing with the Vacuum Blade, Suien flipping away from it. Just as he landed, Ryuu shot forward, water kicking up behind and beside him from his speed. He slashed with the Vacuum Blade from above and Suien blocked it, however, just as the blades met, the Vacuum Blade dispersed, Ryuu continuing forward, splitting Suien's front open with the tanto's blade. He skidded to a stop behind Suien as Suien staggered backward a couple steps then stopped himself, his chakra levels dropping like a stone.

"You...BASTARD! ! !" Suien raged, pulling out the bottle.

He tipped it up, emptying it over his mouth. He drank a lot of it, more than before, but a lot of it also ran down his body in rivulets in his haste. His wound steamed and sealed itself and his power skyrocketed again. Ryuu reformed hi Vacuum Blade and shot forward once again, flipping over Suien's blade and slashing, making Suien duck under it. Ryuu flipped to the water's surface and instantly exhaled several Air Bullets, the blasts slamming into Suien's back, throwing him forward. Suien landed on his feet, waving the sword in front of his face as several flies dive-bombed his eyes. Then, he and Ryuu charged. Both slashed with their jutsu blades. This time, when they connected, it was Suien's blade that fell away, allowing Ryuu's blade to split Suien completely from the left shoulder to the right side of his ribcage.

Ryuu skidded to a stop, staring at Suien as Suien stared at his hand. Then, Shino rose out of the water in front of Suien, insects swarming around him.

"My parasitic insects can absorb the chakra of anyone they touch," Shino said. "Such as the jutsu from that blade you so helpfully waved through a few of them. The others I had planted on you since the beginning of the battle."

Then, Suien dropped to his knees, his halves finally separating. Then, it was Ryuu's turn to fall to his knees, staring at his hands, his tanto and knife sinking into the water below him.

"I...I killed...I...it was...I didn't mean..." Ryuu trailed off, tears streaming down his face.

"Ryuu," Shino spoke up. "Because of your actions, that child is alive."

He stared at Shino before turning to the girl he had saved who smiled at him, her mother hugging her now.

"You saved my daughter!" her mother almost sobbed. "Thank you so much!"

"But...I..."

"Ryuu," Shino said. "We're shinobi. Killing is a part of our lives now. But that's not always a bad thing. There are times when it is okay to kill. For example, when protecting the innocent, or those that matter to you. In those cases, it's okay to kill."

Ryuu stared at him before nodding and diving under the water, retrieving his weapons and returning to the surface. Just as he arrived, he saw something above himself. His vision was blurred from the water, but he could swear he saw a person with wings flying to the top of the tree. He wiped his eyes, looking again only to see that there was nothing there. He turned back to shore, climbing out of the water and jogging back, quickly placing paralysis seals on the two surviving enemy shinobi before tending to Shibuki's wound. Then, he stood, turning and beginning to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Kiba asked.

"I need to check on something," Ryuu said.

Then, he sprinted to the tree, running up the side of it, all the way to the branches at the top. They were thick but after several minutes of forcing his way through, he fell into a sort of clearing at the top. The floor of the clearing was made of tangles branches, woven together tightly but unevenly. Around the clearing, the branches and leaves of the tree blocked everything from view, but he could see the bright blue sky above them. As well as a girl his age sitting on a branch, staring at him.

She had mint green hair, cut short and with an orange hair clip in one side, a sleeveless white top with thin black straps over the shoulders and ending about level with the bottom of her rib cage, a slightly longer netting top under it, ending only about an inch lower than the white top, white sleeves unattached to the top, a Hidden Waterfall headband tied around her right bicep, a white apron skirt that hung fairly low on her hips and with slits all the way up the sides, netting shorts underneath, and white sandals. Her eyes were also a bright, almost glowing, orange and her skin was a light caramel color. She cocked her head to the side as she stared at him and he stared right back.

"You have funny eyes," the girl said.

Ryuu blinked, realizing that his Sharingan was still active. He deactivated them and she cocked her head the other way. "I'm Ryuu Uchiha," Ryuu introduced himself.

"I'm Fu," she responded, smiling, revealing her perfectly white teeth and amazingly beautiful smile. "Do you want to be friends?"

"Sure," Ryuu said almost instantly, some part of his brain wondering exactly why he hadn't even hesitated.

Fu cheered, jumping into the air as she did before flying, literally, to him and scooping him up in a spinning, bone-crushing hug. All he could do was stare between her face, which practically glowed with joy, and the insect-like wings buzzing quietly behind her.

"Oh, right, not supposed to show anyone that," Fu said, setting him down, her wings halting for a moment before dissolving into a glowing powder which then faded.

"I won't tell anyone," Ryuu said, still staring. "You...you have wings. You can fly. How?"

"I...I can't tell you," Fu said, staring at the ground.

"Please, can you teach me?" Ryuu asked. "It's always been my dream to be able to fly."

She stared at him, eyebrows raised, as a smile spread over her face. Then, it faded slightly.

"I can't," Fu said. "It's...not something that can be learned."

"Kekkei Genkai," Ryuu realized.

"Not exactly," Fu said, regarding him curiously but also seriously for a minute. "Promise you won't tell anyone if I tell you what it is?"

"I swear," Ryuu nodded.

"The wings are...I only have them because I'm the Jinchuriki of the Seven-tailed Beetle," Fu said, Ryuu staring at her in shock.

"Oh," Ryuu said.

"Sorry," Fu said. "I suppose you don't want to be friends now, huh?"

"What are you talking about?" Ryuu asked, smiling. "Of course I do.."

She looked up at him in surprise. "Really?"

"Yes," Ryuu nodded. "I mean, we probably won't be able to meet often, but the Hidden Leaf isn't too far away, probably even less by flying. If you ever need help, or feel like visiting and have permission to, you can visit me there. If I'm not on a mission I'll definitely hang out with you."

Fu smiled widely again, picking him up in yet another flying, painful, spinning hug, Ryuu hugging her back this time. Finally, she set him down and stepped back, smiling. Then, she looked past him and sighed.

"I can hear your friends calling," she said. "You'd better go."

Ryuu nodded and said goodbye before returning to the outside of the tree, climbing back down to the others.

"What were you doing up there?" Shino asked.

"I thought I saw something," Ryuu said, noticing Hinata trying to hide a grin.

"Well, anyway, we should probably get back with these two and let Kurenai Sensei know what happened," Kiba said.

Ryuu felt his good mood vanish instantly as he remembered what had happened and he nodded. Then, he and Kiba both picked up one of the two shinobi and they began to walk back.

* * *

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	11. Chapter 11

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Not Okay

Ryuu wandered aimlessly through the empty street, eyes not seeing anything. His mind was miles away, and two days behind. Stuck on the feeling of cutting one shinobi's throat, memorizing the feeling of the slight resistance his neck gave. The feeling of the ninja's warm blood spraying out of his neck onto Ryuu. Ryuu hadn't even noticed the blood until Hinata had pointed it out on the way back. His eyes briefly focused, glancing down at his hand as the memory of the feeling brought a very real sensation of having blood on his hand again, but it was clean. Then, his eyes slid out of focus again, his mind recalling the feeling of splitting Suien in half. The feeling of his sword hitting bone and slowing, only to continue anyway a moment later. He had gotten covered in blood then too, though less of it. He glanced at his hand again, finding his right trying to wipe the blood off his left. He forced his hands to his sides, stopping and looking around, finding himself at Shisui's grave.

Tears began to roll down his face instantly and he fell to his knees, beginning to sob uncontrollably. He wasn't sure how long he was there. Or how long he cried. Long enough for his throat to hurt. For his eyes to burn and the flesh around them to be raw.

"Brother, what do I do?" Ryuu chocked out once he had calmed enough to form words, though he was still sobbing. "I murdered two people! I killed them! I can't take this! I can't be a ninja! I can't kill! I can't!" He broke down into sobs again, forehead resting on the ground. "I don't know what to do! Please! The guilt is killing me and I can't stop it!"

He felt a hand on his should, spinning to look up only to see Yugao kneeling beside him, mask on the ground beside her and sympathy written all over her face. He sat up and she pulled him into a hug instantly, resting her head on his as she shushed him and rocked gently, comforting him. Slowly, he began to calm until he finally stopped crying, sniffing every so often.

"I'm sorry," Yugao said. "I'm so sorry. I know how you feel."

"How?" Ryuu asked, looking up at her.

"Itachi used to be the same way," she said. "When we were in ANBU together, he and I were...close. Anytime he had to take a life, it broke him. I was the one to always help him pick up the pieces. I helped him as much as I could, but I couldn't stop the nightmares."

"How could he be an ANBU if he hated to kill?" Ryuu asked.

"For the village," Yugao said. "He felt he could serve the village best as a nameless shinobi who worked from the shadows, just as your brother did. But...killing was always hard for him."

"How did he keep from going insane?" Ryuu asked.

"He prayed," Yugao said. "Every time Itachi took a life, he would stop and pray for the sins of those he had killed, and then for his own. It was still hard, and he had nightmares about them. But it was enough for him to survive. If not, the job would have killed him."

Ryuu nodded and Yugao rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Ryuu, there's no sin in killing to protect the ones you love," Yugao said. "To protect friends, family, the innocent. It's not wrong to kill in those situations."

"It's still killing," Ryuu mumbled before closing his eyes, beginning to pray.

As he did, he felt his chest compress and tears rolled down his cheeks again, but as he finished, he felt as though a massive weight was lifted off of him. The tears stopped and a sense of peace settled on him. It wasn't complete. The pain and guilt were still there, but they were muted now. He opened his eyes and smiled up at Yugao, nodding. Yugao smiled as well, hugging him before pulling back and pulling her mask back on.

"Alright, now you need to get to sleep," Yugao said. "We have a hard day of training tomorrow."

Ryuu nodded, standing and hugging her again before walking away. He returned to his and Sasuke's house for the first time since he had gotten back, having been in the hospital for the rest, and stopped, seeing Sasuke was in the living room, changing out bandages for numerous tiny but deep puncture wounds over his body.

"Sasuke?" Ryuu blinked. "What happened to you?"

Sasuke looked over at him and grimaced. "Kekkei Genkai user who was trained as an ANBU and used senbon. He put me in a state of death and everything. On the bright side, I finally awakened my Sharingan."

"You did?" Ryuu asked, Sasuke's eyes turning red, the right eye having one tomoe and the other having two. "That's awesome!"

"I heard what happened on your mission," Sasuke said. "Sounds like you got your ass kicked."

Ryuu smirked, shaking his head, grateful that was what he chose to talk about. "There was something else."

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"I met someone," Ryuu said.

"Well it's about goddamn time," Sasuke snorted. "I was starting to be afraid you were gay."

"Not like that!" Ryuu snapped. "This person was...different. Special."

"I thought it wasn't like that," Sasuke said.

"It's not!" Ryuu said. "She...She had wings."

Sasuke stared at him. "Wings. You sure you weren't hallucinating from blood loss?"

"I'm sure," Ryuu nodded. "She had wings. She could fly."

"It had to be a Kekkei Genkai, right?" Sasuke asked.

"Something like that," Ryuu nodded. "But still, it's possible."

Sasuke nodded, smiling. "You and your bug obsession. Anyway, I'm going to bed."

"So, you and Sakura make out yet?" Ryuu asked as he lay down, Sasuke starting to laugh.

"She's annoying."

"You know you like it," Ryuu chuckled. "Just give her a chance. What do you have to lose? A few ryo?"

Sasuke shrugged, laying down and closing his eyes. Ryuu closed his as well, also passing out. The nightmares started instantly.

* * *

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	12. Chapter 12

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Visit

Ryuu walked into the clearing, yawning and stretching before stopping, seeing a shinobi with spiked silver hair, his forehead protector over his left eye, a cloth mask over the lower half of his face, and a standard Konoha jonin uniform standing beside Yugao.

"Hello Ryuu, I'm Kakashi Hatake," Kakashi said. "I'm Sasuke's Jonin Captain."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Ryuu bowed. "I heard you have something that can help me train."

"I do," Kakashi said, pulling up his forehead protector and opening his left eye, displaying his Sharingan as Ryuu activated his own. "I heard Kurenai was teaching you some Genjutsu. That's good. You should excel at it. I can teach you a lot of Sharingan-specific ones, though. I can't teach you to Shisui or Itachi's proficiency, but I can help."

Ryuu nodded and Kakashi began to teach him to use Genjutsu through his Sharingan, then taught him how to control the Genjutsus, and how to use several specific ones, such as how to paralyze someone with Genjutsu, or to leave them unconscious. He taught him how to control someone with one, and how to use one to get information out of them. Then, finally, he called it, pulling his forehead protector back down and sighing.

"I can't deactivate my Sharingan, so it's difficult to use it for extended periods of time," Kakashi said. "Anyway, how about I train you in hand to hand combat next?"

"Sure," Ryuu nodded, drawing his tanto and trench knife, Kakashi drawing a pair of kunai.

Then, Ryuu charged, slashing at Kakashi rapidly. Kakashi blocked Ryuu's knife, shoving it away and ducked under his tanto, then stood, slashing back. Ryuu flipped over Kakashi, landing behind him, crossing his arms across his body, both blades in reverse grip, then shot forward, slashing at him. Kakashi spun, blocking both with his knives. He kicked at Ryuu and Ryuu flipped over it, spinning and kicking at Kakashi. Kakashi ducked under the kick and Ryuu flipped, slashing downward at him only for Kakashi to drop a kunai to the ground, catching his arm and slamming him to the ground, placing a kunai to his throat. Ryuu grinned before dissolving into crows, Kakashi's eyes widening before he grinned, looking behind himself, seeing two Ryuus, both of them with their Sharingan active.

"Impressive," Kakashi smirked. "So, this is either a crow clone, a shadow clone, or a Genjutsu. Alright. Let's see how this goes."

Both charged at Kakashi, slashing at him. Kakashi knocked one's tanto aside, kicking it only for it to explode into a flock of crows as the other slid under the flock, shoving himself off of the ground to slam a kick into Kakashi's gut. Kakashi was thrown backward and flipped, landing on his feet, readying his kunai for a follow up strike only for a hole to burst open below him, crows beginning to fly out of it. Kakashi crossed his arms in front of himself, staring down the hole before flipping backward, landing on his feet and pulling his forehead protector up. The crows and Ryuu both vanished. Kakashi spun, catching Ryuu's arm as he slashed at him and spinning, hurling him.

Just as Ryuu landed, Kakashi created three Shadow Clones. Ryuu stood, cracking his neck as two crow clones formed. Then, Yomo flew down, landing on Ryuu's shoulder and he stroked its head for a moment before holding out his hand.

"Go," Ryuu said.

Yomo shot forward, Kakashi hurling a kunai at it only for Yomo to burst into a cloud of shuriken, Ryuu forming hand seals.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Ryuu said, the shuriken multiplying into dozens more and flying at Kakashi.

Kakashi swore, drawing a second kunai and blocking the shuriken as he leapt backward. As he landed, his clones charged, Ryuu's crow clones meeting them. Ryuu himself sprinted forward, passing the clones a second before the crow clones were beaten and dispersed. Then, Ryuu spun out of the way of a slash from Kakashi, tripping him and driving a knee into his side, Kakashi exploding into smoke. Just as he did, the other two grabbed Ryuu, only for Ryuu to grin, beginning to expand.

"Shit!" one of them shouted, hurling the other away just before Ryuu exploded.

As soon as he did, the real Ryuu landed behind Kakashi, catching him by the arm and spinning, pinning him to the ground.

"I-"

"Lose," Yugao said, appearing behind him, sword to his throat. "Never assume there's only one enemy."

"Yeah well...do you hear something?" Ryuu asked.

They all fell silent, listening as a low buzzing began to grow closer. Ryuu could swear he had heard that noise before.

"Is that Shino?" Ryuu asked.

Then, there was a streak of white and the sound of metal crashing into metal before something crashed into his side and he found himself streaking through the air. He was about to panic when he slowed to a stop, hovering and becoming aware of the hand holding onto his, his body dangling from that hand. He looked up and instantly looked away again. It was Fu. Which meant he was hanging lower than her skirt.

"Um, Fu, can you lift me up or set me down?" Ryuu asked.

"Hm? Oh sorry," Fu said, pulling him up so he was about level, keeping her arm securely around his mid section so he wouldn't fall, Ryuu's hand on her closer shoulder. "Why are they attacking you?"

"They're training me," Ryuu said.

"Training you?" Fu asked. "What do you mean?"

"You've never sparred before?" Ryuu asked.

"Sparred?" Fu asked. "What's sparring? Is it the same thing as fighting?"

"Sort of," Ryuu said. "Except, it's between friends, usually, and it's not meant to hurt each other, only to test each other's strengths. You don't try to kill, only make them surrender."

"So...it's like practice?" Fu asked.

"Exactly," Ryuu nodded.

"Oh," Fu said, brow furrowing. "I've never done that. Everyone in my village is too afraid to fight against me."

"I'm sorry," Ryuu said. "Can you take me back to them now? Before they call a state of emergency."

Fu nodded, flying him back to the field and setting him down, Kakashi and yugao staring in shock.

"Kakashi, Yugao, this is Fu," Ryuu said. "She's a friend I made at the Hidden Waterfall Village."

"She...She has..." Kakashi trailed off as Fu's wings faded.

"Uh, yeah," Ryuu nodded. "It's a...Kekkei Genkai."

Kakashi nodded before his visible eye crinkled in a smile. "Well, it's very nice to meet you Fu."

He extended his hand and Fu smiled widely, shaking it. Yugao watched her carefully, analytically. Obviously she didn't trust her.

"I'm Ryuu's master," Yugao said, holding her hand out, Fu shaking that as well, smiling even more widely.

"That's awesome!" Fu smiled. "No wonder he's so strong! I wish I could be trained by an ANBU."

Yugao stared at her and Ryuu stepped forward, setting a hand on her shoulder.

"How about a tour?" Ryuu offered.

Fu's face lit up and she nodded vigorously.

"Do you mind Master?" Ryuu asked.

"Go," Yugao said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Ryuu nodded, turning and leading Fu away, blushing slightly as Fu slipped her hand into his. He knew he was going to hear about it from Yugao later, but first, he wanted to show Fu his home. The first place he took her was to the Academy. She watched the Academy students learning to fight and throw shuriken and kunai with an almost childish excitement. As they left he Academy, she explained that their shinobi were simply taught by their shinobi sensei. There was no academy.

The next place he took her was to Ichiraku's ramen shop, Naruto's favorite restaurant and the best place to get ramen in the village. Then, Yakiniku Q. Then to the shopping district. Here, Fu began to drag him from store to store, staring at anything and everything that captured her interest with shining eyes. Ryuu had to laugh at her reaction. While they were in one of the stores, Fu began to beg him to buy her a necklace, one with a small rhinoceros beetle pendant. He wasn't exactly sure why someone would even think to make that, but he bought it anyway, Fu nearly crushing his body with a hug before putting the necklace on. Ryuu sighed, shaking his head and leading her out of the store, Fu still staring at the necklace in awe. The gold chain and black beetle pendant clashed with her white clothes, but she looked truly happy to have it, and it suited her, given the circumstances, so he smiled.

Next, he took her to the Hokage Monument. Or, rather, he tried to. However, the moment he said where they were going, her arms wrapped around his chest from behind as he heard her wings buzzing, and they shot into the air, stopping to hover in front of the face, Ryuu standing on Fu's feet with her arms holding him against her. He blushed slightly at that, but glanced back at her, seeing her awed expression and smiled.

"They're amazing," Fu breathed.

"That's not even the best part," Ryuu chuckled.

"What is?" Fu asked.

"You'll have to wait until later," Ryuu smiled. "Come on, land us somewhere out of sight. I don't want to have to explain to everyone that your wings are a Kekkei Genkai."

Fu nodded and landed them in a back alley, Ryuu leading her out and to the third training ground where the Hero Memorial was located. He walked over to it, staring. He didn't know anyone on the list, but he was grateful for that.

"What's this?" Fu asked.

"The Hero Memorial," Ryuu said. "Every name on this stone are people who were killed in a war."

"Are there any names you know?" Fu asked.

"I know of a few," Ryuu said. "But no one I knew personally, no."

Fu nodded and Ryuu turned to her, grinning.

"So, would you like to try sparring?"

Fu's eyes widened before she nodded, grinning. "I can't promise I'll be able to hold back very well."

"Good," Ryuu said. "I like a challenge."

Fu nodded and they walked away from the memorial. Then, they stopped, turning toward each other and readying themselves. Fu moved first and Ryuu didn't have time to react before her fist crashed into his gut, lifting him into the air. Then, she flipped, slamming a kick into his side, launching him sideways into one of the three wooden posts in the center of the training ground. He dropped to the ground, groaning and she shouted in surprise, running over.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" Fu said, helping him up.

Ryuu began to laugh, wiping some blood from the corner of his mouth. "Oh this is going to be fun. Promise you won't kill me and we can continue."

Fu blinked then nodded and jumped backward, Ryuu crouching again, activating his Sharingan this time. This time, when she shot forward, he was able to see her punch coming and rolled under it, standing as he slammed a fist of his own into her gut. He spun around her, ducking as she threw a roundhouse kick over his head. He blushed, looking away only for Fu to spin and slam her foot into his chest, throwing him. He landed on his back, eyes squeezed closed. He needed to focus. If he couldn't focus on fighting, he was going to lose. Badly.

"You having trouble Ryuu?" a familiar voice called out.

Ryuu rolled onto his stomach, staring at Sasuke as he leaned against a tree.

"Or are you just distracted?" Sasuke grinned as Ryuu flushed a dark red.

He walked over, helping Ryuu up, activating his own Sharingan.

"Fu, this is my cousin Sasuke," Ryuu said.

"It's nice to meet you," Fu smiled.

"Want to tag team it?" Sasuke asked.

"How about it Fu, think you can handle us both?" Ryuu asked.

Fu nodded, grinning and readying herself.

"Confident," Sasuke grinned, readying himself. "Good. This will be good training for when I meet him."

"Just remember the deal," Ryuu said, crouching, one foot dragging around behind himself as his hands moved into position. "I'm talking to him first."

Then, all three were off like a shot, Ryuu and Sasuke both dodging a punch from Fu, grabbing her by the upper arms and slamming her back to the ground. The moment they did, she pulled her knees to her chest then planted a foot in each of their chests, throwing them away. Ryuu flipped, landing on his feet as Sasuke crashed down hard, then shot forward again, ducking under Fu's next punch and getting behind her, grabbing her around the midsection and lifting, bending backward and letting go at the last second. Big mistake. Rather than landing on her back like he wanted, Fu instantly flipped, landing on her feet and grabbing him by the bottom of his tanto's harness and spun, hurling him into a tree.

Just as she did, Sasuke got her in a full nelson. His grin lasted about one second before her heel drilled into his groin and she reached back in an incredible display of flexibility and strength, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and hurling him over her head into Ryuu. Sasuke rolled off of Ryuu, clutching his wounded manhood and Ryuu dragged himself away from the tree, trying to regain his breath.

"Are you two okay?" Fu asked, worriedly.

"Great," Sasuke squeaked.

"Terrific," Ryuu wheezed.

"Man, you two suck," Naruto said, stepping into the clearing. "Need any help?"

"Have at her," Sasuke squeaked.

Naruto cracked his knuckled and charged only to be sent flying instantly. Ryuu pushed himself up, taking several deep breaths before charging. Fu shot toward him, wings extending and blurring into motion, speeding her up ridiculously. Ryuu shouted in fear, skidding to a stop and dropping into a crouch, covering his head and barely escaping a would-be devastating haymaker. Fu flipped, landing on her feet as Sasuke stared at her.

"You really do have wings," Sasuke said, standing and leaning heavily against a tree. "I thought Ryuu was out of his mind when he told me about your Kekkei Genkai."

"No, it's real," Fu said.

Sasuke nodded and Ryuu stood, charging at Fu again. Fu sprinted at him again, this time allowing him to punch at her only so that she could catch his fist, twisting his arm outward. His eyes widened as her knee shot upward, but it stopped a millimeter from his elbow. Then, she spun, slinging him around her before hurling him away again.

"I think we should probably call it, Ryuu," Sasuke said.

"Yeah," Ryuu agreed. "She's way too fast."

"Excuse me!" a voice shouted, not angrily, just loudly. "But may I have permission to spar against your friend?"

Ryuu turned to look, staring at a boy about a year older than him who was wearing a green body suit, a red-backed forehead protector around his waist like a belt, and orange leg warmers with a shiny black bowl-cut hairstyle and massively bushy eyebrows.

"Uh, who are you?" Ryuu asked.

"My name is Rock Lee!" the boy said.

"Lee, what are you doing?" a voice Ryuu thought he recognized asked just before a familiar girl stepped out beside him.

"Oh, you're the kid with the birds," the girl said. "I'm Tenten. You gave me the Mandarin Duck."

"Oh yeah," Ryuu nodded. "Is this guy in your team?"

"Unfortunately yes," Tenten sighed.

"He wants to spar Fu," Ryuu said.

"Oh god, I'm sorry," Tenten said.

"It's alright," Fu beamed. "I've never had so many friends before."

Tenten cocked her head slightly just as a third person stepped out. Ryuu knew this one. Neji Hyuga. Genius of the Hyuga Clan. And a massive, egotistical prick.

"Ryuu," Neji greeted him.

"Neji," Ryuu said. "Lee, I have no problem with you fighting her if she doesn't mind."

"Sure, I'll spar with him," Fu smiled.

"That's not a good idea," Tenten said. "He doesn't hold back well."

"Neither does she," Ryuu snorted. "Don't kill him, okay Fu?"

Fu nodded and shot forward, streaking across the space between herself and Lee in less than a second, throwing a punch. Ryuu wasn't sure if he was more surprised by the smile on Lee's face, or the fact that Lee ducked under her punch and caught her arm, throwing her. Fu flipped, landing on her feet and one hand, cocking her head at Lee.

"You're fast," Fu said. "Okay. I can stop holding back so much."

She shot forward faster than Ryuu's Sharingan could track. He looked to Lee just in time to catch Fu jumping over a kick Lee had thrown. How he had avoided whatever strike Fu threw, he'd never know. The next thing he knew, Lee and Fu were a blue of moving body parts and clouds of dust as they shifted their feet. Everyone stared in utter shock, Tenten and Lee backing away from the fight, Neji being the only one to seemingly having no trouble following the fight. Ryuu turned back to the fight just as Lee flipped into the air, twisting and landing on his feet only for Fu to appear behind him, a pair of kunai to his throat.

"You are truly an impressive opponent," Lee said. "I thank you for the honor of this fight. I will have to train twice as hard from now on in order to keep up with you."

"You weren't keeping up?" Ryuu gaped. "Jesus Christ, I couldn't even track your movements with my Sharingan!"

"Me neither," Sasuke said.

"Sounds like you've been slacking in your own training," Neji said. "Let's go Lee. We have to meet with Guy Sensei."

"Right," Lee nodded. "It was an honor meeting you all."

Then, he turned, walking away from the clearing with his team, Fu turning to smile at Ryuu and Sasuke.

"Want to continue?" Fu asked.

Sasuke and Ryuu stared at her then each other before both began to laugh.

"No fucking-" Sasuke began.

"Sure why not," Ryuu shrugged.

Sasuke stared at him again as Fu smiled, readying herself.

"You can't possibly win," Sasuke said.

"No, but like Neji said, we need to train harder," Ryuu said.

"You beat two Jonin," Sasuke said.

"But if I ever have to fight someone from this Guy Sensei's team, I'm going to lose," Ryuu said. "And Itachi's undoubtedly stronger than Fu."

Sasuke stared at him before sighing, readying himself as well. "I hate it when you use logic."

* * *

Ryuu sat down on a stool, Fu sitting beside him, gripping the stool between her legs and spinning herself slowly. Again Ryuu could only grin at her childishness.

"Hello Ryuu," Teuchi, Ichiraku's owner, greeted. "And who might this lovely young lady be?"

"I'm Fu," Fu smiled.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Teuchi smiled. "This is my daughter Ayame."

Ayame poked her head out of the back, tucking her long brown hair behind her ear and smiling at Ryuu. "Welcome back Ryuu. Who's this? Girlfriend?"

"This is Fu," Ryuu said. "She's visiting from the Hidden Waterfall Village. I'm just showing her around."

Ayame smiled. "Wow, the Hidden Waterfall? I heard that place is really beautiful."

"It is," Ryuu nodded.

"Anyway, what can I get for you?" Teuchi asked.

"I'll take two bowls of pork ramen," Ryuu said, looking to Fu. "I'm buying so get whatever you want."

"Oh you don't have to pay, I eat a lot," Fu said.

"It's alright," Ryuu smiled. "I can handle it."

"If you say so," Fu shrugged. "I'll take ten bowls of pork ramen and ten bowls of miso ramen."

A massive knowing grin spread over both Ayame and Teuchi's faces and Teuchi nodded.

"It's another Naruto," Ryuu sighed before chuckling. "Does your appetite by any chance have anything to do with your Kekkei Genkai?"

"That's right," Fu nodded. "It makes my metabolism a lot higher than anyone else's. Why?"

"Do you remember the blonde that tried to fight you but went down in one hit?" Ryuu asked.

"Yes," Fu nodded.

"He eats as much as you do," Ryuu said. "His chakra reserves are almost monstrous."

Fu's eyes widened and she nodded, smiling. "I see. Good. He seems like a good person."

"He is," Ryuu smiled. "Not the brightest, though. He's an idiot."

Fu laughed and nodded as Teuchi brought out both of Ryuu's bowls and Ayame brought out the first two of Fu's. They both began to eat, and sure enough, Fu was finished her twenty in almost the same amount of time it took Ryuu to eat two of his own, just like Naruto.

"That was amazing!" Fu smiled.

"Thank you," Teuchi smiled as Ryuu set a stack of bills on the counter. "Come again Fu. Maybe bring Naruto next time."

Ryuu chuckled as they walked away and he looked up at the slowly darkening sky.

"Alright, I think it's about time," Ryuu said. "Mind flying us to the top of the Hokage Monument?"

Fu nodded, picking him up and flying them to the top of the mountain, setting him down and he sat down, dangling his feet over the edge, Fu sitting beside him. Before them, and at the height they were at, the sun was about halfway down the horizon. Above it, the sky was dyed hot pink. Fu stared at it in awe, eyes sparkling. Ryuu watched her, smiling as her attention was locked fully on the sunset. He smiled to himself as he turned back to the sunset, watching as the pink turned bright oranges and reds like a fire. Then, finally, the sun was gone, pink reclaiming the sky for a time before the light began to fade.

"That was beautiful," Fu breathed.

"Hold on," Ryuu said. "Three...two...one."

Lights began to turn on in the village below them, lighting it up in a sea of lights that made the village beautiful in its own right. The only sounds around them were crickets and Ryuu once again found Fu staring in awe.

"It's so beautiful," Fu breathed.

"Yes, it is," Ryuu agreed, looking back at the village.

It began to get a bit chilly out. Ryuu reached out to pull Fu against him to keep her warm only to find that her skin was ridiculously warm to the touch, like a pocket warmer.

"Are you feeling okay?" Ryuu asked. "You're so warm. You feel like you have a fever."

"No, I'm okay," Fu smiled. "It's just a part of having...my Kekkei Genkai."

He caught the flash of sadness in her eyes before she hid it and pulled her into a hug, also enjoying the warmth. "I'm sorry Fu. I wish there were a way I could take that burden off your shoulders."

"It's alright," Fu smiled. "Chomei's not so bad. He's actually really nice. It's just hard to have the entire world be afraid of you because you were chosen as a baby."

"Well, I'll never be afraid of you," Ryuu said. "Afraid of being hit by you, maybe. But not afraid of you."

Fu smiled and nodded, wrapping her arms around him. "Smooth move finding an excuse to have me warm you up."

Ryuu chuckled, giving her a slight squeeze. "Thank you. I meant it, though. I'll never be afraid of you. I'll always be there for me if you need me. You just need to ask."

Fu nodded, smiling as well. They sat there for a while longer before Fu flew Ryuu home. Then, she gave him one of her signature bone-crushing hugs and took off, flying home. Ryuu smiled as he watched her go before sighing and heading inside, steeling himself for Sasuke's jokes.

* * *

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	13. Chapter 13

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Training

Ryuu stepped into the clearing, stopping as he watched Guy train his students. He shook his head in amusement. Guy looked like an older clone of Lee. Right down to their unnaturally shiny white teeth and eyebrows. If Ryuu had to guess, he'd say Guy was his father.

Finally, the genin stopped, Neji glaring at him.

"What do you want Uchiha?" Neji demanded.

"I need to speak with your sensei for a moment," Ryuu said.

Guy nodded, walking over to him. "How can I help you?"

"I'd like to request permission to be trained by you for a while," Ryuu said. "In addition to the training I already receive."

"Why?" Guy asked.

"Because I can't keep up with Lee," Ryuu said. "My Sharingan can't even track his movements. I have another friend who's even faster than him but I can't see often. And I know that Itachi may try to finish me someday. And if he does, I know he's stronger than Lee. So...I need to be faster. For that, I need to be trained by you."

"What about your own Jonin sensei?" Guy asked.

"I don't have one," Ryuu said. "I was an extra, so I'm being trained by an ANBU member in between their missions and for my own missions I'm simply attached to other teams as back up."

"I see," Guy nodded. "Sure. But I can't promise to have much time for you. I have to get my own team ready for the Chunin exams."

"Oh, are they coming up?" Ryuu asked. "How do you enter?"

"Your Jonin Sensei has to recommend you," Guy said. "And you have to have a team of three."

Ryuu nodded, sighing. "Okay, so what's first?"

"Put these on," Guy said, pulling out a set of leg weights.

Ryuu strapped the strips of weights onto his lower legs, lifting his legs experimentally and instantly seeing he was going to have trouble lifting them higher than half their normal height. Guy nodded approvingly.

"Now, run twenty laps around the village," Guy said, Ryuu staring at him.

"You're kidding," Ryuu said.

"He's not," Tenten said sympathetically. "It's a warm up."

Ryuu sighed and nodded, turning and beginning to run. As he ran, Yugao and Kakashi both found him, jogging over to run next to him, staring at the weights.

"I see," Kakashi nodded. "That's going to be hard. Probably the hardest thing you've ever done."

"I know," Ryuu nodded. "But since I'm not allowed to become a Chunin, I figure I might as well find a way to train well."

"Yes, about that," Kakashi said. "We're trying to find you a team."

"It's fine," Ryuu said. "I'm not a part of one normally, so there's no reason why I should have one for the Chunin exams."

"While true, you are a shinobi," Kakashi said. "We'll find you a team, don't you worry. Just try to get along with them."

Ryuu nodded and Kakashi branched off. Yugao turned to him, jogging backward.

"Are you sure you can handle Might Guy's training?" Yugao asked.

"No," Ryuu said. "But I have to try."

Yugao nodded and also left, Ryuu facing the front and continuing his run. After hours of running, he finally slowed to a stop in the clearing again, drenched in sweat and barely on his feet. Neji saw his condition and snickered, Lee nodded approvingly, Guy grinned and gave him a thumbs up, and Tenten gave him a sympathetic look.

"Right, good run time," Guy said. "Next up, do three hundred pull ups."

Ryuu slumped forward before walking to a tree, struggling to walk up it to a branch then hanging from it, beginning to do pull ups. After fifteen, he dropped, landing heavily and panting. He looked back up at the branch before sighing. Hours later again, he finally fell off the branch, finally having somehow managed to pull off doing three hundred pull ups. He wasn't surprised by the next one.

"Five hundred push ups," Guy said, now sparring with his genin team.

Ryuu rolled over, beginning to do pushups. Fortunately, the extra weight was on his feet this time, so the push ups were only made harder by the pull ups beforehand. After about an hour, he finished his push ups and stood, turning to Guy who nodded.

"Good. Lee, spar with him," Guy said. Carefully."

Lee nodded, crouching then sprinting at Ryuu. Ryuu dove to the side, struggling back to his feet and gritting his teeth as he forced his arms up, his muscles not wanting to respond. Lee reached him almost instantly, throwing a punch. Ryuu ducked under it, arms beginning to respond again as adrenaline kicked in. Lee's next punch he blocked only for a kick to slam into his gut almost instantly, throwing him backward. He flipped, crashing down in a roll before rolling to his feet as Lee streaked forward for a straight punch. Ryuu dropped, sweeping at Lee's legs but Lee picked his feet up, his momentum not only carrying him past Ryuu but slamming his feet into Ryuu's face first.

Ryuu groaned, slowly pushing himself up as Lee waited patiently, one hand a fist behind himself, legs straight and nearly together, and his left hand held vertically in front of himself with his fingers extended and joined and his thumb across his palm. Ryuu staggered as he stood, then regained his footing and readied himself, nodding. Lee shot forward, Ryuu throwing a punch. Lee ducked down and to the side of the punch, driving his own punch into Ryuu's jaw. The next thing Ryuu knew, he was lying under a tree. He sat up, wincing as his beyond fatigued muscles protested and his jaw throbbed painfully. He looked around, seeing the weights sitting beside him and Yugao was beside him, her mask in her lap and a shinobi sitting in front of her, a reg-hilted katana beside him in the grass.

"Oh, you're awake," the shinobi said. "I'm Hayate Gekko. I'll be the proctor for the third portion of the Chunin Exams. Yugao asked me to help train you, as well."

"Oh, joy," Ryuu sighed. "More training."

"He's a Kenjutsu master," Yugao explained. "He's still training me in Kenjutsu."

Ryuu nodded, understanding, and stood, drawing his tanto, arm nearly falling limp from even that small amount of weight.

"Not yet," Hayate said. "You're in no condition to train in Kenjutsu. I'm going to teach you a jutsu first. Try to learn it without your Sharingan first. It's better that you can do it without first. In case you need to use it but don't have enough energy for Sharingan."

Ryuu nodded, sheathing his tanto and sitting down as Hayate explained the Transparency Jutsu, a jutsu that allowed the user to turn almost totally invisible. He demonstrated it, the only thing remaining being a barely visible distortion where he was, which Ryuu only noticed because he knew where to look. After a few minutes of memorizing the hand seals, Ryuu tried it, successfully managing to turn his arms and torso in visible, but leaving his head and legs. He released the jutsu, trying again, getting a little further this time. The jutsu didn't require very much chakra, thankfully. It was mostly a matter of control.

Finally, Ryuu sighed, letting his hands fall and leaning back against the tree, wiping some sweat from his forehead. "Yugao, do you think it would be possible for me to learn some Medical Ninjutsu?"

"Probably," Yugao nodded. "I also plan to turn you into a Sensory Ninja."

"Man, I'm going to be a jack of all trades," Ryuu grinned tiredly. "Okay. I think I need to go home for now."

"I'll get your weights," Yugao said. "You head home now. By the way, I got you a team. I had to pull a lot of strings to, but I found two shinobi willing to take the exam. Also, Guy can't train you anymore. He and his team got a last minute mission before the exams. He'l be out of the village until just before it. We'll be doing all of your training weighted from now on. That's what Lee does."

Ryuu nodded and pushed himself up. "See you in the morning then."

Yugao nodded and Ryuu left, making his way slowly back to his and Sasuke's house. Then, he dropped onto his bed and passed out instantly.

* * *

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	14. Chapter 14

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Trouble Shooting

Ryuu ducked under Yugao's kick, standing and blocking a punch, catching her arm and spinning, throwing her. She flipped, landing on her feet and motioning for him to attack. He sprinted forward, slowed considerably by the weights. When he reached her, he threw a kick at her, Yugao catching it and shoving his foot upward. He flipped backward, landing on his hands and feet just in time to throw himself to the side away from an axe kick. He landed in a roll, standing and blocking a series of punches before tripping as his leg failed to rise high enough as he tried to step backward. Yugao managed to keep from tripping over him and helped him up, nodding.

"You're getting better," Yugao nodded. "We'll have to up your weights tomorrow."

Ryuu nodded just as Kakashi stepped into the clearing, visible eyebrow rising.

"You weren't told, were you?" Kakashi asked.

"Told what?" Ryuu asked.

"You're coming on a mission with us," Kakashi said. "We're escorting an actress while her next movie is filmed."

"We are?" Ryuu asked. "Who is it?"

"Have you seen the Princess Gale movie?" Kakashi asked.

"That one about the magic knights fighting hollow suits of armor, and the princess has that overpowered rainbow chakra at the end that just destroys everyone in one shot?" Ryuu asked.

"That's the one," Kakashi nodded.

"Nope," Ryuu said, flipping onto his hands, a shadow clone forming to help him keep his balance. "I take it that's who the actress is."

"That's right," Kakashi nodded. "She's a bit reluctant to go, so we're going to make sure she actually goes as we are to protect her."

"Where are we going?" Ryuu asked. "And what's the mission ranked?"

"It's an A ranked mission," Kakashi said. "And we're going to the Land of Spring."

"Isn't that the place that's always winter?" Ryuu asked.

"That's right," Kakashi nodded as Ryuu finished his handstand push ups and set his feet down.

"Alright," Ryuu nodded. "I'll go pack and meet you guys at the gate."

"We're meeting in twenty minutes," Kakashi said. "Dress warmly."

Ryuu nodded and Kakashi left, Ryuu sighing as he turned to Yugao. "I guess we'll up the weight when I get back."

"Keep the weights on for the mission, if you can without dying," Yugao said. "It'll be good practice, and will give you a temporary speed boost when you first take them off."

Ryuu nodded and left, heading home and quickly sealing several sets of his identical outfits into a scroll, along with both of his cold weather cloaks. Then, he let Yomo out of his cage and left the house, Yomo siting on his shoulder. As he was passing the closet, he grabbed his tent, sealing it as well, before heading to the main gate. As he arrived, he found the others waiting with Yukie Fujikaze, the actress they would be escorting, her three costars, the three bodyguards of Princess Gale in the movie, and Yukie's manager, an older man with a worn brown cloak, spectacles, and a small red tanto with eyedrops hanging from it.

Yukie had long dark blue hair, a beautiful face, and a colorful and obviously expensive kimono. She also was passed out and in a cart. One of the three costars was bald with n average face, though in the movie he wore warpaint, one was a handsome man with long brown hair, and one was a slightly older and heavy-set man in his late thirties with short dark blue hair.

"Finally," Sasuke said. "You always this slow?"

"Who was it that did better against Fu?" Ryuu asked.

"Lee," Sasuke snorted.

"Fair enough," Ryuu nodded.

"Alright, everyone, this is the last member of the team, Ryuu Uchiha," Kakashi said. "Sorry he's late, he wasn't told until a little bit ago that he was coming."

"That's quite alright," the older man said. "My name is Sandayu Asama."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Ryuu bowed.

"He's very polite," the one with brown hair chuckled.

"We should go," Sasuke said. "We need to be on the boat before she wakes up. We can do introductions on the way."

"True," Kakashi nodded. "Alright. Let's go."

With that, they headed out. A few hours later, they were on a ship, sailing out to sea, and a few hours after that, Ryuu was training in his room on the ship when he heard Yukie screaming at Sandayu. He sighed, shaking his head as he continued his handstand push ups. She was going to be a very difficult client. Over the next two days, he spent the majority of the time training in his room, though he went up on deck long enough to watch the crew film one scene, one where the heavy-set costar died after a battle. It was amazing watching Yukie act. One second, she was an annoyed, unwilling bitch who wanted nothing to do with the movie. The next, she was a heart broken heroine whose friend was dying in her arms. At least, until it came time for her crocodile tears. For that, she needed to have everyone freeze while Sandayu used the eyedrops to force her eyes to tear up. Aside from that she was amazing.

After that, the crew cleaned up the set and Ryuu returned to training. Sasuke stayed to watch this time, impressed that he had been training with the weights for most of the trip. In truth, Ryuu was running on fumes. He needed to rest, and Sasuke looked like he was entirely too happy to be light.

"Here," Ryuu grinned, taking the weights off and holding them out. "Your turn."

Sasuke grinned, strapping them on and instantly losing his smile. "Shit. This will be hard."

Sasuke began to do exercises of his own as Ryuu began to practice the Transparency Jutsu again. He was finally able to perform it again, but was trying to learn to do it without any hand seals, the way Hayate could. Finally, Sasuke gave up and Ryuu took the weights back, strapping them back on and heading to bed.

* * *

"Director! We've got a problem!"

Ryuu shot out of bed, looking around. The director's assistant had clearly been panicked. Ryuu grabbed his scroll of spare clothes, along with his tanto and trench knife, strapping the trench knife on and slipping his tanto's harness on as he ran to the deck, meeting Sasuke on the way. However, when they reached the deck, they found that the only problem was that the ship had had to stop to avoid hitting a gigantic iceberg, one that above the water was easily ten times the size of the ship, if not more.

"Do you know what this is!?' the director, an older man with grey hair with streaks of white, a yellow sweater, and a red bull horn in his hand at all times.

"Um, an iceberg, sir?" the assistant asked.

"It's perfect!" the director shouted. "We're changing everything! Get the crew ready! We're filming here!"

So, a half hour later, Yukie and the two supposedly surviving bodyguards were on the iceberg, her costars getting their makeup and costumes ready and Yukie standing beside a heater with Naruto, both with their arms crossed and yawning widely at the same time, both equally disgruntled to be awake. Ryuu conceded that it was early, and that it was freezing cold, the cold-weather cloaks doing absolutely nothing to keep them warm, but it could be worse. Kakashi was only wearing a scarf for warmth. Ryuu stood beside Kakashi as they watched the actors get ready, soon including the main antagonist of the Princess Gale movie series, an older, very heavy-set man with a white mustache, thinning white hair, a purple robe, and a khakharra. Finally, when the actors and Yukie were ready, they took their positions. Yukie and her two bodyguards were standing on the first part of the iceberg, a low flat area. Then, after that, the flat area sloped up to another flat area about twenty feet higher. The actor playing the antagonist stood off to the left on the higher section. Beyond that section, there was a pair of massive mountains with a valley in the center, both mountains reaching roughly a hundred feet in the air.

"Everyone ready!?" the director shouted to the camera and sound crew. "And...action!"

"So, Princess Gale, you've arrived!" the antagonist actor began.

"Mao!" the one with brown hair shouted. "We're here to stop you! Your reign ends here!"

"We'll just see about that!" Mao said, pointing two fingers at Yukie. "HA-"

He stopped as the mountain behind him exploded, Mao turning to look at it, thoroughly confused. At the same moment, Kakashi appeared between Yukie and the explosion and Ryuu landed beside him a moment later.

"Is this a part of the scene?" Mao asked.

"Mao, get out of the way," Ryuu instructed, Mao instantly complying.

As the smoke thinned, someone stood beside the crater, throwing a white blanket off of themselves and smiling as he crossed his arms and watched them. "Welcome friends, to the Land of Snow."

He wore a white bodysuit that looked to be armored with a small metal plate bearing a white and blue yin-and-yang symbol on the left shoulder, blue tubes leading from the edge of the plate to various parts of the suit. The right arm was uncovered by the suit, exposing a black sleeve with a metal bracer on the right forearm that had an opening on the front, as though it could fire something. He had light purple hair in a ponytail with a single lock hanging in front of his mask-style Hidden Snow Village forehead protector and his pale green eyes.

"You!" Kakashi growled, narrowing his visible eye at the ninja.

Suddenly a second shinobi, a female this time, appeared on top of an ice spike on the far right side. She had pink hair with two pieces sticking out of the top of her helmet, on the front of which was her forehead protector. She had green eyes, small dot eyebrows, as did the first shinobi, and a similar outfit, except that her own had the yin-and-yang sign on the back with two metal pieces extending straight out from either side of it before turning a right angle downward, ending in a spike.

"Greetings Princess Koyuki," the woman spoke up. "I do hope you're still carrying around the Hex crystal."

Kakashi's eye widened and he stared back at Yukia in shock. Then, he whipped his head around as a third, much larger shinobi, stood in the center of the iceberg.

"You're as good as they say, Kakashi," the third ninja commended. "Unfortunately, it's not good enough."

He was about six and a half feet tall and fat with a mask-style forehead protector, short messy purple hair sticking our of the top, beady black eyes, eyebrows matching the other two, and the same kind of uniform. His own yin-and-yang symbol was on his stomach with tubes going first to a pauldron on his left shoulder, then down his left arm to a massive robotic gauntlet. It was about a foot wide over his arm with a cannonball for a hand. The hand had three flat, metal fingers and a thumb, a hole in the palm for God knows what, and a sword with the handles being a pair of metal rods set into semicircular gaps in the back of the blade."

Ryuu narrowed his eyes at the largest of the three. "I'll take the female. I'm assuming the one with the ponytail is the biggest threat."

"Yes, but they're all dangerous," Kakashi warned.

"Understood," Ryuu nodded. "Sakura, get everyone back to the ship! Naruto, protect Yukie! Sasuke, handle the fat one."

"Got it!" Sasuke shouted.

"Gotcha!" Naruto nodded, jumping over to stand in front of Yukie, drawing a kunai.

"Understood!" Sakura shouted, turning to the film crew. "Everyone on the ship!"

They all complied instantly, turning to run, except Yukie, who fell to her knees, staring at the three shinobi in utter terror.

Ryuu turned back to the girl as she grinned, leaping into the air and hurling several kunai. Ryuu flipped out of the way, but just as the kunai hit the ground, massive spikes of ice burst out of the ground, growing rapidly as the kunai headed for Naruto and Yukie. Ryuu used the Body Flicker technique to get in front of them, running through hand seals.

"Fire Style, Giant Fireball Jutsu!" Ryuu shouted before exhaling a massive fireball, blocking the last of the kunai and melting their ice spikes, as well as the first bunch. "Yukie, get to the ship! Now!"

Yukie didn't respond so Ryuu sprinted away from her, drawing his trench knife and a kunai, holding both in reverse grip as he leapt at the woman, slashing. She spun out of the way, slashing at him only for him to block it and shove the knife away, slashing at her. She spun out of the way, leaping backward and forming hand seals.

"Ice Style, Tsubame Blizzard!" she shouted, ice forming from the air into small ice birds and streaking at Ryuu. Ryuu used the Body Flicker Technique to get out of the way, then hurled his kunai at the woman as she was airborne, the woman grinning and flipping, blocking it with one of her own, dropping hers. Ryuu dove to the side as ice spikes shot past him. Then, she landed, slamming her hands into the ground.

"Ice Style, Ice Prison Jutsu!" she shouted.

Massive pillars of ice began to shoot up from the ground in a trail after him. He began to flip backward as quickly as he could in successive hand springs. Finally, it became clear he couldn't escape it and he leapt into the air. The next ice pillar grew faster than the others, catching his foot and halting him, then encasing him in ice. The woman grinned, landing on it and grinning down at him.

"Too slow," she grinned.

"Guess again," Ryuu said, appearing behind her as the Ryuu in the ice began to expand, the ice cracking.

"What?" she shouted.

Then, the Ryuu she caught exploded into a massive fireball, obliterating the ice and throwing her away. She landed hard, rolling just before Ryuu yanked on metal wire, several strings of it bursting out of the snow below her, binding her instantly and yanking her front first into the only remaining ice pillar.

"Caught you," Ryuu grinned.

"Not yet!" she growled. Suddenly, the two metal spikes on her back shot upward, snapping the wire before transparent pink wings made of some kind of rubber-like material and in the shape of bat wings extended from them and she shot into the air, Ryuu staring at the wings jealously.

"Lucky," Ryuu grumbled.

Just then, a scream filled the air and Ryuu spun toward Yukie to see Naruto was holding the largest ninja's hands, both of them, in his own. Ryuu instantly noticed Naruto's red irises and slit pupils, sharpened teeth, thickened whisker marks, and claws. Then, he noticed why the ninja he had stopped had screamed. Naruto had the ninja's right arm twisted outward and had driven his knee up into the ninja's elbow, shattering it. At the same time, Naruto's other hand had crushed the cannonball.

"He's been studying," Ryuu grinned, turning back to the female, activating his Sharingan as she looked at him. "Your turn."

"What's with your eyes?" she demanded.

"Come and see," Ryuu invited.

She flew down at him, slashing his throat with a kunai, only for his body to disperse into crows. She spun, stopping as his upper body reformed from crows, the point at his waist where it stopped remaining a shifting mass of crows.

"What is this!?" she demanded.

"Your loss," Ryuu grinned.

Then, he dispersed again as seal script shot over her body from behind. Ryuu grinned but at the same time as the seal script finished, it faded, the girl spinning, a wicked grin on her face as she slashed. Ryuu managed to escape injury thanks to Sasuke grabbing him and leaping away. Ryuu stood, growling in annoyance.

"What the hell was that?" Ryuu growled.

"Their armor," Sasuke said. "It creates a chakra forcefield that blocks all Genjutsu and Ninjutsu. Only Taijutsu is effective."

"I see," Ryuu nodded. "I'll have to take them off, then."

"Ryuu, Sasuke, get to the ship!" Kakashi shouted suddenly.

Just as he did, a gigantic white whale with a spiraled horn on its nose burst out of the water, falling on the iceberg, shattering it and breaking a third of it off.

Ryuu and Sasuke both used the Body Flicker Technique to get out of the way, landing beside Sakura and Yukie on the ship, Naruto sprinting toward them from where the biggest shinobi had thrown him with his ruined metal hand. Naruto jumped toward the ship just as the girl flew toward him with a kunai. Ryuu crouched, unclipping his leg weights then shot off the ship, flipping in the air and slamming both feet into her back, then leaping off of her back, launching her into the ground and landing at his weights again, reattaching them just as Naruto landed beside him, sighing.

"Thanks," Naruto said.

"Good job breaking the big guy's arm," Ryuu said.

"I saw you use that one on Sasuke once," Naruto said. "Figured I'd try it out."

"Impressive," Ryuu nodded. "But you'll have to be careful who sees your eyes like that. It gives away your...Kekkei Genkai."

"You know?" Naruto gaped.

"My friend Fu, the girl with the green hair you tried to fight and lost to in one hit, has a similar one," Ryuu explained.

Naruto's eyes widened and he nodded, smiling. Just then, a pair of massive white horned whales burst out of the water, crashing into each other then dropping on the remains of the iceberg and completely destroyed it, the remains beginning to sink as Kakashi landed on the ship, the waves from the whales landing on the island shoving the ship away from the iceberg and toward the Land of Spring. Ryuu sighed, leaning on the railing.

"Who were they?" Ryuu asked.

"Shinobi from the Land of Spring's Hidden Snow Village, Yukigakure," Kakashi said. "The leader, Nadare Roga, the fat one, Mizore, and the female, Fubuki. They're dangerous."

"Noted," Ryuu said. "And the armor?"

"Chakra armor," Kakashi said. "It's a highly improved version from the type I ran into the last time I was here. When we inevitably fight them again, stick to Taijutsu."

"Understood," Ryuu nodded. "We should make sure everyone made it back okay."

Kakashi nodded and the five of them headed below deck to find the others.

* * *

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	15. Chapter 15

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Ambush

Ryuu studied the information on the two seals he had found. One was a temperature regulation seal. It was meant to keep the body from getting too cold or hot. If he successfully used it, he would be able to be in the Land of Spring's winter without it feeling any different than a perfect day in Konoha. The other seal was called a gravity seal. It would increase the effect of gravity on anyone or anything it was placed on. The lowest amount was an extra fifty percent, four times the weight of his current leg weights. However, there was technically no cap to the seal's power, so if he mastered it, he could use it to immobilize his target instantly.

He started with the temperature regulation seal, placing it on his left forearm, grinning as he instantly felt the chill that had invaded their truck vanish. He kept the cloak on just in case the seal failed, but he no longer needed it. At least, not inside the truck. Outside may be different. Next, he took off his leg weights, placing a gravity seal on his arm at the lowest setting, feeling gravity yank downward on him and grunting before removing the seal, settling for his legs. Then, he looked out the window of the truck at the snow covering everything.

When they had first arrived, Kakashi had explained that when he was still an ANBU, he had saved a child princess, apparently Yukie, named Princess Koyuki Kazahana, from the Land of Spring when her uncle, Doto Kazahana, had murdered her father, having Nadare, Mizore, and Fubuki stage a coup. Koyuki had taken a crystal called the Hex Crystal, her necklace, apparently, with her when she left. The crystal seemed to be the key to the Kazahana family's treasure, which was what Doto was after. Then, Sandayu had apologized for hiding it, informing them that he was a caretaker to her as Princess Koyuki, and she had become Yukie Fujikaze to hide from Doto. However, as she came of age, he had devised a plan to get her back to the Land of Spring in order to rally the people, who were still loyal to her, to fight against Doto so that she could claim the throne that was rightfully hers.

Personally, Ryuu wasn't overly concerned with rallying the people, or with the Kazahana family treasure. What the people thought was, in the end, meaningless. Doto was a tyrant, according to Sandayu, and wouldn't rest until Koyuki's treasure was his. At which point, the people of the Land of Spring would probably experience an even worse life than they already did. So, he would dethrone Doto for them. Koyuki refused to help rally the people because she had no hope that they could win, nor any desire to assume the throne. She claimed to have not cried since the day her father died, and Ryuu believed her. But either way, he would leave Naruto in charge of changing her mind. He had a knack for that, according to Sasuke. Apparently, Naruto had turned a cold-blooded assassin Missing Nin into a crying wreck over the loss of a partner he had previously though of only as a tool, allowing the Missing Nin to sacrifice himself to save the Land of Waves. If Naruto could do that, saving Koyuki would be a walk in the park. He hoped. So, Ryuu would focus on Doto. Fighting he could do. Fighting was easy. Changing people's hearts required a natural gift and a lot of skill.

"Pee break!" the driver announced as the convoy of trucks slowed to a stop.

Ryuu opened the door, grinning as everyone else flinched at the cold draft but he felt only a warm breeze. Once outside, he placed the seal on everyone else. Then, he climbed back into the truck, waiting as everyone else piled in, now smiling comfortably. The trucks started out again before stopping on the far side.

"Why are we stopping!?" the director demanded.

"Mr. Makino! We have a problem!" the assistant shouted. "Yukie's run off again!"

Ryuu sighed, climbing out as Team Kakashi did the same. Ryuu looked around carefully from the top of his truck.

"Anything?" Kakashi asked.

"Not yet," Ryuu said, shaking his head before holding out his hand.

Yomo suddenly flew down from above, landing on his arm and turning his head, pointing with his beak before pecking him and pointing back the way they had come.

"Naruto, that way," Ryuu said pointing in the direction Yomo pointed first.

Naruto nodded, taking off at a run while Ryuu lifted his arm, Yomo taking off again.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked.

"Something's coming from behind us," Ryuu said. "Don't know what, but Yomo says it's not friendly."

"Got it," Kakashi nodded. "You three help Naruto."

Ryuu dropping to the ground as the others left. He unsealed his cloak since it was white and would hide his black clothes, then left, heading out into the trees to find Koyuki and Naruto. He didn't travel fast. Since he knew there was something behind him he needed to be careful for, he didn't travel far. Nor did he actually look for Koyuki. The others could handle that. He was waiting for Yomo. Soon, Yomo called out above him and he turned, heading back in time to see a train exit the tunnel they had just driven through on freshly-thawed tracks. Beside the tracks was Naruto and Koyuki, having just barely escaped the train running them over.

"It's been a long time, Koyuki," a voice said over the train's loudspeakers.

Ryuu turned back to the train as a man stepped out of the back car. He wore a very extravagant robe, had very broad shoulders and a broad face, and Ryuu instantly knew this was Doto.

"It's been ten years," Doto said. "Come now, don't be shy. Let's get a look at that face."

Naruto stood in front of Koyuki, glaring at Doto just as a dozen logs suddenly began to crash down the side of the mountain beside the train, crashing into two of the cars along with an avalanche of snow, trapping them. They all turned to look, seeing samurai lining the top of the rise, Sandayu along with them, now dressed in armor with a katana and his tanto.

"There you have it men! Our beloved Princess Koyuki is here to watch over us!" Sandayu shouted. "With her at our side, victory is ours!"

The samurai began to cheer as Sandayu drew his sword and Doto watched with an unimpressed expression.

"Here me Doto! We've waited a long time for this day of reckoning to come! Sandayu Asada and fifty loyal warriors stand before you to avenge our great fallen leader Lord Sosetsu! On this day you will breathe no more!"

Again the soldiers began to cheer, except that this time, they began to charge as well. As they did, Ryuu began to run around the train, watching it. Suddenly, the side facing the samurai slid open, revealing dozens of small square slots per train car, and out of the small round tube at the front and back of each car rose a small box with similar tubes along with a crank handle, a Hidden Snow ninja standing behind each small box, on hand on the crank. Ryuu unsnapped his leg weights instantly, shooting forward to land in front of the samurai, hurling handful of shuriken and forming hand seals rapidly. As he did, the train cars began to fire kunai, much too fast and too rapidly to dodge, the kunai flying in walls, more than a dozen walls flying at the samurai in each wave and more than a dozen waves. Finally, Ryuu finished his hand seals.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Ryuu shouted, the handful of shuriken multiplying into hundreds, streaking out and beginning to block the kunai, barely holding them back, but succeeding.

The samurai slowed to a stop, watching in awe as Ryuu struggled to keep the jutsu going, kunai and shuriken dropping to the ground like rain. Then, a kunai stabbed into Ryuu's shoulder, breaking his concentration. The effect was instant. Ryuu hit the ground hard, his entire body in agony. Blood was splattering across the snow all around him. But then, it was over. The kunai had stopped. His head rolled to the side and his eyes widened. Samurai lay scattered across a sea of blood and red snow, weapons sticking out of the ground everywhere. Some of the samurai were shouting in pain, others were dead. A handful were still struggling to stand back up, having miraculously survived the slaughter. Sandayu was on his feet, but had numerous kunai buried hilt deep in his torso. Ryuu looked down at his own body. He had a kunai in his shoulder, not deep but enough to hurt, and had one in his right shin, one in his left thigh, and one in his gut. He groaned, struggling to stand but fell to the snow again. Suddenly, one of the trains fired again, a single wall of kunai flying at stopped beside Ryuu, watching the kunai come toward them. Then, a fuma shuriken shot down from above, blocking the kunai just before Sasuke shot between two piles of snow, hurling a kunai. the kunai hit a train car, exploding and damaging it but not destroying it. Then, an explosion went off above them all on the side of a much higher point in the mountain, snow cascading down the mountain and beginning to bury the train. Doto looked less than impressed and walked into the train. As he did, Sandayu fell to his knees, beginning to tip over. Ryuu managed to push himself up, catching Sandayu and setting him down. As the train began to move, the bridge exploded, the train beginning to be dragged backward as it fell. The front two train cars disconnected and the rest fell away, the front two cars escaping.

"Dammit," Ryuu groaned, ripping the kunai out of himself one at a time, bandaging the wounds. "I'm sorry, Sandayu. I tried."

"You did...plenty," Sandayu smiled. "Some of...them are...still alive...thanks to you."

Ryuu glanced at the other samurai. He was right. About ten were alive, though only about seven looked like they might stay that way. Ryuu turned back to Sandayu as the others arrived, Koyuki kneeling beside him, though she didn't look the least bit sad.

"My Princess...please...forgive me," Sandayu pleaded. "I never should have...gotten you...involved in all of this. It's just...that every single one of us here...were able to keep believing in spite of everything because...we knew you were alive. When you were little, and even now, you have always been...just as I...your loyal Sandayu...believed. So too must you believe in yourself. You have always been our purest hope Princess. Please...do not waste...your tears...on me."

His face scrunched up in pain before relaxing slowly as his head rolled to the side. Koyuki simply stared at him in silence for several minutes.

"You are such a fool, Sandayu," Koyuki whispered. "I can't cry. You have my eyedrops."

Ryuu stared at her, unsure if he wanted to believe she was simply hiding her pain or if he wanted to slap her for being a coldhearted bitch.

"Are you all satisfied?" Koyuki asked, standing. "Let's go back. If you stay here your lives will be in jeopardy! Let's go home already."

"Go home to where?" Naruto growled. "I thought this was your home wasn't it? What the hell do you need to go back to, your place is here! Now face Doto and put your house in order!"

"You know absolutely nothing," Koyuki snapped. "Spring doesn't come to this country. Our tears have frozen over, and our hearts hardened with the cold."

"But, aren't you the only one with the power to change that?" Sakura asked. "I mean at least, at least that's what Sandayu believed anyway, wasn't it."

"I've had enough of this nonsense," Koyuki growled.

"Koyuki," Ryuu said. "Are you running from your death, or from your people's?"

Koyuki stopped, turning to look back at him in confusion.

"If it's your death, then I promise you we'll protect you," Ryuu said. "If it's your people's, then let us five handle Doto and his ninja. That way, none of your people are put in harm's way. And when we've defeated Doto, you'll be free to return and lead your people, right?"

Koyuki stared at him for several more seconds before turning away.

"What makes you think you can handle Doto?" Koyuki asked.

"I don't think I can," Ryuu said. "Especially wounded as I am now. But Kakashi Sensei could easily handle him. And we can handle Doto's body guards."

Koyuki stood there in silence for several seconds before huffing. "Do what you want."

She took a step just as a humming sound reached their ears. "What the hell is that?"

Suddenly, a hot air ballon began to rise from beside the cliff, the second train car hanging from it and Mizore standing in the door, his right arm healed and his damaged robotic arm fixed. Koyuki turned to run as the robotic hand fired, a cable attached to the back. The hand grabbed the back of Koyuki's coat and yanked her off the ground, pulling her back to the doorway. At the same time, Fubuki flew past, hurling a barrage of her special kunai, which Ryuu blocked with a barrage of Shuriken Shadow Clones, making the kunai land in the distance, the spikes that grew not hurting anyone.

As the spikes were growing, Naruto hurled a kunai with a rope attached, catching the back of the train car's railing and being pulled along after it, using Shadow Clones to climb inside. Ryuu sighed, turning to the others.

"Now what?" Ryuu asked.

"We follow them," Kakashi said. "Are you alright to go?"

Ryuu nodded, taking off his bloodied cloak and tossing it aside, taking his spare out of his scroll and pulling it on. He whistled and Yomo called back to him, taking off after the balloon. Ryuu nodded to the others and they all took off after the balloon. They quickly lost sight of it, however, every few seconds, there was a falling black feather, so they followed those. Finally, they reached the top of a cliff and stopped, Yomo flying down to land on Ryuu's shoulder, now missing a good number of feathers. Ryuu stroked his head gently and Yomo brushed against it.

"Get somewhere warm Yomo," Ryuu said. "I'll see you later."

Yomo squawked and took off, headed back the other way, and Ryuu turned to the cliff, the others already inspecting it.

"Alright, what's the plan?" Ryuu asked. "I'm sure Naruto's raising hell inside already, or at least planning to. So what do we do to get him out?"

"I'll cause a distraction," Kakashi said. "When I do, you three infiltrate through the roof and find Naruto and Koyuki. Break them out."

Ryuu nodded and Kakashi vanished.

"How will we know what the distraction is?" Sakura asked.

"I'm sure we'll know," Ryuu said.

Just then, an explosion rocked the cliff and Ryuu leapt forward, plummeting to the roof of the fortress below, landing heavily and rolling to a stop, Sasuke and Sakura landing beside him a moment later, Sasuke helping him up.

"Be more careful," Sasuke said. "You're hurt, remember?"

"I know," Ryuu said. "When we meet them, Fubuki's mine."

"You just want practice fighting a flying opponent for the next time you and Fu spar," Sasuke snorted.

"No, I want to steal her wings," Ryuu corrected. "Now, let's get going."

* * *

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	16. Chapter 16

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Final Fight

"Let's go."

Ryuu walked to the door inside and opened it, finding the stairs clear. They all ran down the stairs, finding that the section of castle they were in was a maze of hallways with catwalks above them. They jumped to the catwalks, running along the hallway until they reached a three-way split. They separated, Ryuu taking the right-hand path. As he ran, he found that there were no troops running past him, despite several more explosions rocking the fortress. he was glad for that. He didn't want to have to fight anyone. He stopped after a bit, removing and resealing his cloak, then continued, eyes scanning the tunnel for any sign of Hidden Snow Ninja. Finally, he stopped as he reached an area where the hallway turned right but the catwalk continued through the wall to a massive open chamber. In the center, there was an octagonal platform with his catwalk and a second attached to opposite sides. he stepped onto the platform just as Fubuki flew into the chamber from a tunnel high up the wall, floating down to land across from him.

"Well well, lucky me," she grinned. "I get the fun kid again. One of our shinobi reported someone heading this way. I'm glad it was you."

"So am I," Ryuu grinned. "After I beat you, I'm taking those wings."

Fubuki grinned widely, drawing several kunai.

"It would seem the disadvantage is pretty even here," Fubuki said. "My Ice Style will be a lot weaker without any ice or snow, but you also have to stick to that tiny little platform."

"That's true," Ryuu nodded, looking around. "I think I can use that to my advantage."

"We'll see about that!" Fubuki sneered, hurling several kunai around the platform.

Ryuu crouched, readying himself and grinning. He had forgotten to grab his leg weights after their last meeting. And because of that, he still felt light, though not as light as at first. The kunai all stabbed into the platform, ice spikes exploding out of the small crystal balls attached to the pommels and shooting inward at Ryuu. He vanished, reappearing on top of a spike as they finished growing.

"How did you..."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ryuu grinned. "Did I move too fast for you? I guess you might have a bit of trouble keeping up this time then, huh?"

She growled in rage, hurling wave after wave of kunai at him.

"That's it," Ryuu grinned, crouching again.

A moment later, he was flipping and dodging from spike to spike as they grew from all around him, a couple managing to scratch him but for the most part he evaded them. Fubuki stopped, hovering around the now enormous mess of ice spikes.

"My turn," Ryuu grinned.

He began to leap around the ice spikes, hurling kunai with metal wire attached as he did, anchoring one end to a spike far enough down for it to stay, and the other end was attached to the walls by the kunai. Finally, he leapt onto a wire then began to flip around the room on them, firing off even more kunai. Finally, he stopped, crouching on top of an ice spike, the room now filled with metal wires, making it impossible for Fubuki to fly anywhere.

"You little brat!" Fubuki snarled. "That's actually pretty impressive."

She folded her wings in, dropping onto a wire and charging at him. He met her charge, flipping over her punch just in time for her to leapt past a wire, hurling kunai to the wall on either side of the tunnel she had entered through, the ice spikes cutting the wires blocking her path.

"See ya kid!" she shouted as she flew away.

Ryuu hurled a knife with a rope attached, wrapping it around her ankle. She looked back at him, shouting in annoyance and beginning to flip and spin as she flew, kicking her leg, Ryuu flailing around behind her. Ryuu managed to avoid slamming into any of the tunnel walls, and avoided the random catwalks that appeared. Finally, they flew into a massive open chamber with the Kazahana family crest in the center, a high platform off to one side with a throne and a staircase leading up to it, two doors leading out of it, Doto and Koyuki standing at the top of the stairs, Nadare and Mizore in front of the stairs, and Team Kakashi on the opposite side of Nadare and Mizore.

"Here, go see your friends!" Fubuki shouted, flipping and whipping Ryuu around before slashing the rope.

Ryuu crashed down in front of the others, pushing himself up with a groan as Fubuki landed with the others, glaring at him.

"Sorry I'm late," Fubuki said. "That kid's pretty crafty."

"Sorry, I meant to finish her in the other room. But I suppose this will do too. What'd I miss?"

"Koyuki's with them," Naruto growled. "She was just acting like she was on our side."

"Yes," Koyuki said, Ryuu realizing she was holding Sandayu's tanto. "It was all an act!"

She spun, drawing the knife and stabbing Doto. It was too low to be fatal, but it also hadn't gotten far enough in for that to matter. Something was blocking it. Ryuu had a guess what.

"You wretched..." Doto grabbed Koyuki by the throat, holding her at arm's length, but she continued to push the tanto, Doto's face contorting in pain as she did.

"Princess!" Naruto shouted.

"I always knew...Naruto...that if I ever returned to this country...I was going to die here!" Koyuki managed to say. "At least...I could..." She forced her way forward, pushing harder, forcing Doto back toward the edge.

"Don't you do it! Don't you stop fighting!" Naruto shouted, sounding desperate.

"Naruto, it's only thanks to you that...I could stop running away...here at...the end," Koyuki said, barely conscious but somehow still pushing against Doto.

"No! Because all you're doing _is_ running away!" Naruto shouted. "Don't throw away your life like this!"

Koyuki whispered something just as Doto pitched backward. Ryuu watched them fall in silence. It wasn't a fatal distance. She would live. But then, so would Doto, especially with his Chakra Armor. The pair crashed down loudly, Koyuki landing on her head and being knocked unconscious and Naruto sprinted past the other three, the three of them grinning knowingly and allowing him to go. In fact, they hadn't reacted to Doto being stabbed at all, either. Sure enough, just as Naruto neared Koyuki, Doto stood, slamming an uppercut into his gut and launching him backward. As Naruto landed, Ryuu noticed the device on his stomach for the first time, a metal object with six flattened protrusions around the outside, each with a wire extended and driven into Naruto's gut, and a blue and white yin-and-yang symbol on the face.

He turned his attention back to Doto as Doto let his robe fall, along with the tanto, exposing his black Chakra Armor with blue highlights and a set of wings on his back. The yin-and-yang symbol was dead center of his chest and there was a green skirt-like cloth around his waist with a purple rope belt.

"You really thought you could kill me did you, with this little toy?" Doto chuckled. "That's right. It's Chakra Armor. Our latest prototype."

Koyuki suddenly began to cough, stirring. Doto picked up Koyuki and Naruto sprinted forward again.

"Don't you touch her with those filthy hands of yours!" Naruto shouted seconds before Doto turned, slamming a fist into Naruto and launching him backward again.

"Naruto!" Koyuki shouted.

"You're wasting your time," Doto snorted. "Every ounce of your chakra has been completely sealed away!" He looked down as Koyuki uselessly slammed her fists into his abdomen. "Come, let us go Koyuki. Beyond the rainbow."

Ryuu rolled his eyes at the quote from Koyuki's movie. Suddenly, the roof above them exploded, a metal wire yanking Doto and Koyuki upward, Naruto hurling a kunai with a rope to Koyuki, which she caught, pulling him along. The other three Snow Ninja scattered as the rest of the roof began to cave in, Ryuu and Team Kakashi doing the same. Ryuu looked up, catching sight of Fubuki flying through the debris and followed her, using the Body Flicker Technique to navigate the debris without getting crushed. Then, he leapt at her, catching her around the waist and kicking his lower body under them before yanking downward, sending them both on a spiraling course to the ground. A moment later, he leapt off and Fubuki crashed down hard, rolling to a stop before standing, glaring at him as he stood, drawing his trench knife and a kunai in reverse grip. She looked back at her now thoroughly destroyed wings and sighed, folding them back in.

"Alright kid, let's do this your way," she growled, drawing a pair of kunai of her own.

Ryuu sprinted forward, flipping over her first slash and slamming a kick into the side of her head. She flew away from him but he landed and instantly threw himself away as her kunai fell, massive ice spikes exploding up after him, once again at full power as they were outside again. Fubuki flipped, landing with her hands on the ground and massive pice pillars began to burst out of the ground at him. He leapt onto a tree then off of it over a pillar, forming hand seals.

"Fire Style, Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" He shouted, several fireballs blasting the ice pillars, clearing him a spot to land.

As he did, he spun, hurling his kunai and blocking one of Fubuki's, making the ice spikes miss. Then, he dove to the side as ice sparrows shot out of the snow below him. They shot into the air, wheeling around.

"Fine then," Ryuu said, forming several hand seals.

Suddenly, crows began to shoot off of him, seemingly forming from his black shirt. When he had read that part of Shisui's summoning techniques, he hadn't understood it fully. But now he did. The crows crashed into the sparrows, using their talons to smash them, a few crows being hit only to explode into a cloud of feathers as they returned to their own dimension. Finally, the last of the swallows were gone and Ryuu flipped to the side as more kunai stabbed into the ground.

"Is that all you've got?" Ryuu asked, looking up at Fubuki. "You're getting to be a broken record!"

He sprinted forward, flipping onto an ice spike and sprinting up it then leaping at her. Fubuki leapt off of the branch she had been on, landing on the snow, forming hand seals. Ryuu dropped to the ground and sprinted at her, trench knife in hand again.

"Ice Style, Ice Dragon Jutsu!" Fubuki shouted, a massive dragon made of ice erupting out of the ground before her, roaring as it bore down on Ryuu.

"Impressive," Ryuu said, appearing to Fubuki's left, the ice dragon crashing through several trees. "Too slow, but impressive."

The dragon reared around, flying at Ryuu again only for Ryuu to flip out of the way, sprinting at Fubuki again. Fubuki drew a kunai, blocking his trench knife and he grabbed her arm, spinning and hurling her into her own dragon. She shouted in fear and surprise just before the chakra barrier protecting her met the dragon, causing a massive explosion. She crashed down in front of him and stood, charging at him only for him to duck under her punch, slamming a fist into her stomach, lifting her off of the ground. Then, he flipped, kicking her sideways through the trees. He ran after her, leaving the trees at the top of a cliff. He slowed to a stop as she stood, only for the snow below her to give way. Fubuki shouted in fear, falling and Ryuu leapt to the edge, driving his tanto into the ground and catching her wrist.

"What are you doing!?" she demanded.

"I may not like you, but I don't want to kill you," Ryuu said.

"You're trying to save me?" she scoffed. "You're supposed to be a ninja! We kill each other!"

"I want to be different," Ryuu said. "I make my own path."

"Just die you idiot!" She shrieked, pulling herself up and slashing with a kunai.

Instinct dictated Ryuu's reaction. His hand released her, rising to shield his eyes. As a result, he received a gash running down his forearm as Fubuki fell, screaming as she did. He lowered his hand just as she slammed head first into a rock outcropping, her scream ending instantly and her body pinwheeling to the ground. Ryuu pulled himself up, gritting his teeth and closing his eyes, praying. Then, he carefully bandaged his arm, Sakura arriving as he did and helping him. Then, they both ran away from the cliff, Sakura leading him. After several minutes, they arrived at a large clearing where the snow had been melted and two Narutos were sprinting at Doto, another held by the hands. Then, they stopped, hurling the third Naruto at Doto. As they did, Doto threw a punch, a massive black dragon made of ice with the inside of its mouth and its eyes all glowing red shot out, crashing into Naruto and blasting him into his clones, all three being blasted backward as the dragon exploded.

"Dammit," Ryuu growled. "Where's Kakashi when we need him!"

He sprinted forward, cradling his wounded left arm against his abdomen and drawing his tanto with the other. He sped at Doto from behind but Doto spun, punching him and sending him flying, his tanto landing off to the side.

"Ryuu!" Sasuke shouted from off to the side where he was barely able to stand. "Use this."

He activated his Sharingan, forming a ball of Lightning chakra in the palm of his hand and Ryuu activated his own Sharingan, copying the jutsu. Then, he turned back to Doto, charging. Doto sped forward, throwing a punch, but now Ryuu had his Sharingan active. He ducked under the punch, standing and driving the ball of lightning into the underside of Doto's arm. The arm was sliced off and Ryuu spun to a stop, allowing the jutsu to fade as Doto stared at his stump before screaming in rage and pain. He spun, holding out his fist and sending a black dragon at Ryuu but Ryuu dove to the side, avoiding it. As he was sprinting forward, however, Doto stomped, a pillar of ice bursting out of the ground before him, blasting into Ryuu's full body and launching him backward into a massive chunk of ice. Ryuu fell to the ground, groaning, just before Kakashi appeared behind Doto, driving the same lightning Jutsu Sasuke had showed him through Doto's heart. Doto turned to attack Kakashi only for Kakashi to catch his arm and spin, hurling him into one of the massive mirror-like glaciers around them. Doto hit hard and stood, roaring in rage, several massive ice dragons bursting out of the ground at Kakashi.

"Fire Style, Dragon Flame Bomb!" Kakashi shouted before exhaling several massive flaming dragons.

Three of the four crashed into the ice dragons, blasting them apart before the last exploded into Doto. The explosion sent cracks shooting along the glacier and after a moment, the face of the glacier broke apart. Instantly, it was like a switch was flicked. Rainbow-colored light was suddenly shining from the glaciers and the temperature rose instantly to mid-summer levels, the temperature sweeping across the country so rapidly and completely that the snow melted in a massive wave, the now beautiful green fields seeming to be spreading over the country in the blink of an eye. Ryuu sighed as it did, collapsing into the grass, head turned toward the center of the glaciers, where a massive transparent figure was now hovering. Ryuu blinked. It was a young Koyuki. A voice began to speak, but it sounded garbled to Ryuu and he couldn't understand. He was also aware of his body feeling like it was a thousand pounds. He looked down at his arm and realized why. He was bleeding heavily out of his forearm. Dangerously so. He tried to stand but his legs gave out, leaving him to crash back to the ground. As soon as he did, Kakashi appeared over him, saying something but Ryuu couldn't hear him. He was so tired. And his body felt so heavy. But at least there wasn't anymore pain. Maybe there should have been, but for now there wasn't. He felt like it had been years since he had slept. Maybe if he just got a few minutes of sleep he'd be able to think again.

His brain became aware of an odd buzzing sound. Maybe that was just his imagination. He tried to block it out but it refused. He felt like he knew that sound from somewhere. He opened his eyes slowly, seeing a white sandal and a tan let, but he couldn't find the will to look up to see who they belonged to. Then, there was a green light above him and warmth filled his body, pushing the numbness out but also holding the pain that should have returned at bay. He smiled. It was a comforting warmth. He let his eyes slide closed, his smile never leaving his face as he slipped away.

* * *

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	17. Chapter 17

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Bad Dreams

Ryuu watched as Koyuki walked away, stopping to sign autographs as she did.

"That...script..." Kakashi gaped. "She's...perfect!"

Koyuki turned, smiling back at them and Ryuu snorted in amusement, shaking his head. Before walking away, Koyuki had said she intended to keep acting, before holding up a Make-out Paradise script and running off. If that was her next part, Ryuu wouldn't be surprised if Kakashi ended up owning a signed copy of the movie before it was even released. Ryuu sighed, turning to the most recent addition to the team, the one that had saved his life.

"How did you even know where to find me?" He asked.

"The Hokage said you were on a mission here, so I flew here and Yomo led me to you," Fu said. "It's a good thing too."

"I agree," Ryuu said, his right hand tracing over his left forearm where there should be a life-threatening gash, no perfectly smooth without so much as a scar. "You saved my life Fu. Thank you."

She smiled, face practically glowing with joy at the simple statement. "You're welcome. But how did you even get that hurt to begin with?"

"I...I tried to save someone from death, and they tried to kill me before they were safe," Ryuu said.

"I see," Fu nodded. "You should have just let them die."

"I can't do that," Ryuu said. "Killing is wrong, no matter the reason."

"No, killing without good reason is wrong," Fu said. "If you're killing something to protect something else, then it's justified."

Ryuu remained silent, staring at the ground.

"Hey wait a minute! I forgot to get her autograph!" Naruto suddenly shouted.

Ryuu chuckled, walking over to the others with Fu as Sasuke held up an envelope with a rainbow on the front.

"Don't worry, I took care of it for you," Sasuke said.

"Aw, how sweet of you Sasuke," Ryuu taunted.

"Shut up Idiot!" Sasuke grumbled.

Naruto opened the envelope, pulling out a picture of himself, unconscious and with bandages and casts covering most of his body. In the picture, Koyuki was kissing him on the cheek and she had signed the bottom right corner. Ryuu snorted before bursting out laughing, Sakura and Fu bursting into giggling fits and Kakashi managing to suppress his own laughter.

"Damn Naruto," Ryuu laughed. "You lucky dog. An autograph and a kiss."

"Shut up!" Naruto snapped, face as red as a tomato.

They all laughed again before leaving, heading back to the ship and then from there back toward Konoha. Ryuu wandered around the ship for a while before settling in at the nose of the ship, leaning on the railing and watching the seagulls drifting lazily overhead. He really wished he could have gotten Fubuki's wings before they were destroyed. But maybe he just wasn't meant to fly.

"Whatcha doin'?" Fu asked, walking up behind him.

"Just thinking," he smiled, eyes falling to the water below them.

"I see," Fu nodded, watching him for several minutes, seeing his eyes flick up at the birds every few seconds. "Would you like to fly with me for a bit?"

He blinked in surprise, turning to stare at her, seeing the honesty and and a touch of sympathy in her eyes, her mouth turned up in a kind smile. After a moment, he nodded, smiling. Fu's smile grew and she nodded, stepping up behind him, wrapping her arms around his mid section, her hands gripping her forearms securely before he heard her wings buzz to life. Then, they slowly lifted off of the deck, tipping forward and beginning to move. At first, Fu kept it slo, rising up over the shit and drifting around, Ryuu smiling and closing his eyes, reveling in the weightless feeling of flying, even if it wasn't of his own power. He truly loved to fly with Fu. After a moment, he opened his eyes, whistling. A moment later, Yomo was flying at their side. Fu smiled as Ryuu reached out, petting his head lightly, careful not to get in the way of his wings. Then, he glanced back at Fu, a grin on his face and a knowing smile grew on hers.

"Alright," Fu smiled. "Have it your way. But don't pee your pants or I'm dropping you."

And with that, they were off, streaking around through the air so fast Ryuu had to squint against the wind. He hoped there was a jutsu he could learn to counter that, but in the mean time, he cheered, throwing his arms out wide as Fu flipped and rolled and somersaulted through the air. Yomo followed, managing to keep pace with her, despite the incredible speeds they were flying at. Fu dove, streaking down at the water before leveling out on a dime, Ryuu feeling his insides shifting from the momentum, a tickling sensation filling his lower abdomen. He cheered again, reaching out and dragging his hand through the water. After a minute, he pulled it back, Fu turning and shooting across the water until they were over a school of fish. The fish began to jump below them, Ryuu grinning as one flopped down, splashing them. He laughed and Fu curved upward again, shooting up high into the air, spinning as she did and giving Ryuu the feeing of being completely weightless. Then, she leveled out, now below Ryuu with Ryuu within arm's reach of the clouds. And he took advantage of it too, reaching out and sticking his hand in the cloud, watching as the cloud parted. He pulled his hand back, staring at the condensation on it, before Fu rolled over, diving yet again and shooting back down the thousands of feet it took to reach the water then rolling over, skimming over the water as low as she could without wetting her wings. Ryuu rolled over in her arms, carefully sitting up, Fu taking his hands so he wouldn't fall. He grinned, closing his eyes and enjoying the feeling of the wind buffeting his face, less so now than before. He opened his eyes again, smiling down at Fu as she watched him, a small smile on her face.

"Thank you," he said. "You have no idea what this means to me."

Fu shook her head, smiling. "I do. You want to fly because when you do you're free. No one can force you to do anything. There's nothing expected of you, no duty, when you fly. You're just free. Truly free."

Ryuu nodded, smiling. He lay down, hugging Fu and closing his eyes. Fu hugged him back, rolling over again and rising back up to be a little ways above the ship. Ryuu turned around again, allowing Fu to hold him against her as they flew, drifting calmly through the air now. It was still fast enough that Ryuu didn't feel like he was falling, and Fu didn't seem to be struggling with his weight at all, so he simply closed his eyes, his hands resting over Fu's with his left between hers, and enjoyed the freedom. Finally, Fu lowered them back to the deck of the ship,in the back this time, not moving away from him, but setting their feet down and allowing her wings to fade. They stayed there for a long while, watching as the sun fell in front of them before touching down over the water, slowly sinking below it. The sunset was completely different here. Here, the entire sky was turned a fiery orange as the sun sank. Then, as the sun was sinking, it seemed to disappear in horizontal lines, one line at a time. And each time a line sank below the horizon, it turned green for a moment. Then, finally, the last of the sun began to vanish, turning a bright lime green for a moment before fading altogether. The sky remained orange for several minutes before fading to red, then to pink. Finally, the pink faded to a night-time sky and the world fell silent, save for the creaking of the ship as it sailed, and the sound of waves hitting the hull. Ryuu tipped his head back, looking up at the stars as his head rested on her shoulder. He was glad they were about the same height. She was taller than most of the girls he knew. He smiled. Nothing about her was like any of the other girls he knew.

"Thank you for saving me," Ryuu said.

"You're welcome," Fu said. "Promise me you won't get yourself killed any time soon, though. I don't want to lose my best friend."

"I can't promise I won't die," Ryuu said. "But I promise I'll try."

Fu nodded, smiling and resting her chin on his shoulder. Ryuu smiled, lifting his head up and leaning it against hers, their hands still stacked on over his abdomen. After several minutes, Ryuu pulled away slightly, enough to turn around and hugged her, Fu hugging him back.

"How long do you have until you have to go home?" Ryuu asked.

"I'm allowed to stay away a week this time, as long as I stay with you," Fu said. "Since you saved our village, Shibuki trusts you to watch over me."

"I'm getting the feeling it's more of a 'keep you out of trouble' situation," Ryuu chuckled.

Fu laughed and nodded. "It is."

Ryuu smiled before stepping back.

"We should get to sleep," Ryuu said. "It's already late."

Fu nodded and they walked down below deck together. As they walked, Ryuu realized the problem.

"There aren't any open rooms," Ryuu said.

"That's alright," Fu smiled. "I can sleep in the cargo hold. I'm used to sleeping away from others anyway."

"What are you talking about?" Ryuu scoffed. "You're taking my bed. I'm sleeping on the floor."

Fu's eyes widened and she shook her head. "I can't do that. It's _your_ bed. I'll sleep on the floor. It's fine, really. Half the time I wake up hovering with my wings anyway."

"No Fu. You're taking the bed." He opened his door, letting Fu in after him before shutting the door.

His room was spacious, with a bedside table beside the bed, and a bathroom with a hole that emptied out in the water below the ship. Once inside, Ryuu took one of the spare blankets and pillows, setting it out on the floor for himself.

"Ryuu, you're not sleeping on the floor in your own room," Fu said. "Sleep on the bed."

"The bed's yours, Fu," Ryuu said.

"Then I guess it's just not going to be used," Fu shrugged, lying on the floor.

"Fu."

"I'm sleeping on the floor whether you use the bed or not," Fu said, closing her eyes.

Ryuu sighed, resting his face in his palm. This was a far cry from the childish girl she usually acted like. Finally he sighed, giving up.

"Alright," Ryuu sighed. "You use the blanket and pillow. I'll take the bed. Happy?"

Fu smirked and walked over to the blanket, slipping under it and wrapping herself in it before lying down, watching as Ryuu slipped his sandals off and climbed into the bed.

"Happy now?"

"Much better," Fu beamed. "Goodnight Ryuu."

"Goodnight Fu," Ryuu said, rolling his eyes and rolling over, closing his eyes.

* * *

Ryuu reached for the light. It was so close. He just had to reach a little further. The hands grabbed at his clothes, at his flesh. Pulling. Dragging him back. Their rotting flesh reeked, filling his nostrils until he couldn't breathe. He's gag and have to choke back his bile. Their skin was cold and clammy, sticking to him more than it should. He was so close to the light. But now it was getting further away. Then, the voices began.

"Murderer!"

"Killer!"

"Monster!"

"Murderer!"

"Killer!"

"Monster!"

It was like a chant. The voices chanted the mantra again and again as the hands pulled. The light began to fade until darkness swallowed him. Then, the faces appeared. Rotten and with their eyes fully white, devoid of life yet not dead. Suien. Suien's henchman. Fubuki. They clawed at him, pulled at his clothes. Tore at his flesh. One of them bit down on his arm and he screamed, yet no sound came out. Then, there was another face. Shisui's. A look of revulsion and hatred on it.

"Please!" Ryuu pleaded, reaching for Shisui as the hands clawed at him. "Save me! Big Brother!"

"You are not my brother," Shisui spat. "You're a murderer!"

Then, Shisui was gone. Ryuu cried out in despair and fear. Then again as the hands and the faces began to tear at him once more. Then, there was light. The light shone on him and the hands turned to dust, the faces vanished. And then, there was a voice.

* * *

"Wake up Ryuu!" Fu said, shaking his shoulders gently.

Ryuu's eyes finally fluttered open and he blinked several times, feeling the tears on his face before sitting up, hugging Fu as he felt his throat constricting as his body tried to sob. Fu held him comfortingly, her hand slowly trailing up and down his back as she did. Finally, Ryuu reached up, wiping his eyes and getting himself under control.

"I was having a nightmare," Ryuu whispered.

"I know," Fu nodded. "It's alright. It's over now."

Ryuu nodded, closing his eyes, feeling his body slowly stop trembling, despite seeing the faces burned into his mind, flashing behind his eyes as he kept them closed. After a few minutes, he lay back down and Fu stood only for him to catch her hand. She looked back, seeing him staring at her hand in silence, his eyes practically screaming how afraid he was on having another nightmare. After another moment, Fu lay down beside him, pulling the covers up over them both and then wrapping her arms around Ryuu, feeling him curl into her, his arms wrapping around her as he pressed his forehead to her shoulder, trembling ever-so-slightly. She ran her hand lightly through his hair, feeling him slowly beginning to calm before finally he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

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	18. Chapter 18

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

New Team

Ryuu walked through the trees in silence, Fu following after him. After a few minutes, they reached the clearing where Yugao usually trained him and found Yugao waiting with her mask on and with four others. One of them was Kurenai, one was Hinata, and two of them were wearing black pants, black sandals, a grey jacket with their midriffs exposed and a second jacket that extended across their backs and then around a few inches in front of each shoulder over it. The black jacket, basically little more than detachable sleeves, had the left sleeve short and the right sleeve a three-quarter sleeve, ending a couple inches before their black gloves, which had the index fingers and thumbs uncovered. There were red straps over their shoulders with a tanto attached behind their right shoulders. One of the two had straight silver hair reaching almost to his shoulders and the other had shorter black hair that was a little messier, though not by much Both were also unusually pale.

"Master, who are they?" Ryuu asked.

"This is Sai," she indicated the one with black hair, "and Shin. Starting now, they're your team. At least for the duration of the Chunin Exams. Also, while you're training your teamwork with them, you're also going to be having a shadow clone train with Hinata, and another learning Genjutsu from Kurenai."

"Um, not that I mind, but why?" Ryuu asked.

"You're learning Genjutsu from me because Yugao's not amazing at it, and Kakashi's busy training Sasuke," Kurenai said. "You're training Hinata because I know you understand how she feels about hurting others."

Ryuu felt his stomach began to sink as the faces from his nightmare returned to him but he nodded. "Okay. I'll do what I can."

"Remember," Yugao said. "Don't overdo it, since you're using Shadow Clones, you'll be getting the exhaustion that your clones gain as well as their memories, resulting in mental feedback, in a sense. It's going to get very exhausting, very fast."

Ryuu nodded and Yugao turned to Fu. "I understand you're very powerful, Fu. Would you mind being their opponent?"

Fu nodded, walking to the far side of the field, Ryuu walking over to Shin and Sai while creating two clones for his other training, both of whom prepared to charge.

"Don't go charging in," Ryuu said as he and Fu both readied themselves.

"Why?" Shin asked.

"She's far too fast for that," Ryuu said.

"Begin!" Yugao instructed, Fu shooting toward them instantly. Shin and Sai shouted in surprise as Ryuu stepped forward, ducking under Fu's first punch, catching her arm by the elbow with his own, yanking her backward. She flipped, landing on her feet and grabbed him, hurling him as Shin and Sai both punched at her. She caught Shin's arm, slamming him into Sai and hurling both before spinning, catching Ryuu's punch. She threw a knee at him and he pushed off of it, flipping over her and hurling her over him. She flipped, landing on her feet as Ryuu activated his Sharingan.

"Shin, Sai, we're going to need to work together," Ryuu said. "Since I don't know what the two of you can do, watch for an opening and use it."

Both nodded and Ryuu charged, Fu speeding forward, punching at him. He ducked sideways from it, punching at her only for her to block the punch. He threw a punch with the other hand and she leaned back out of the way, allowing Ryuu to drop his first hand to the ground, and bring his foot up, kicking at her. She ducked under the kick, slamming a palm strike into his gut. He shot backward instantly and ink snakes burst out of the ground, wrapping around her instantly, binding her in place. As soon as they did, Shin sped forward, drawing his tanto. Suddenly, Fu wasn't bound in the snakes. She was standing behind Shin with his own tanto to his throat.

"I yield," Shin said.

Fu released him, turning and blocking Sai's Tanto. As soon as she did, she leapt over Ryuu's foot as he swept at her feet. She flipped over Sai, shoving him into Ryuu. Ryuu caught him, shoving him to the side and diving out of the way of a straight punch by Fu. He landed in a roll, regaining his feet in time for Fu to appear in front of him, slashing downward. He drew his own tanto, blocking the one she stole from Shin, seeing that it was double-edged and tipless.

He shoved the blade to the side, releasing his own and tackling Fu. As soon as they hit, he set his hand against her abdomen, a paralysis spreading over her body instantly. He sighed, rolling off of her and standing, walking to his tanto. He tossed Shin his as well then turned to Fu just as the seal flashed and burst off of her like broken chains, fading. She shot toward him again and he ducked, slamming a palm strike into her gut and placing a gravity seal at ten times gravity. Fu crashed to the ground instantly and Sai appeared over her, tanto to her throat.

"Enough," Yugao said. "Your teamwork is shaky at best, but it'll improve. Well done."

"Thank you," Ryuu said, releasing Fu and helping her up. "Granted, she was holding back more that time than when she fought me and Sasuke, but still."

"True," Yugao nodded. "Alright. Now. The three of you also need work on your Kenjutsu skills. I'll be handling that."

Ryuu nodded and walked over with his tanto, Sai and Shin joining him a moment later.

* * *

Ryuu released his clones and clenched his teeth, holding a hand to his head as their memories flooded him. Hinata had done well. She had improved her Taijutsu quickly, even picking up some techniques that weren't Gentle Fist, which his clone had learned hurt. A lot. But apparently, it wouldn't immediately disperse a clone.

"So, Shin, Sai, what's you two's story?" Ryuu asked.

"We're a part of a small group of ANBU known as the Foundation," Shin said. "It's run by Danzo Shimura. I'm sorry, that's all I can say about it. But, we were brought into it when we were young. We don't have families other than the Foundation, but Sai's like a brother to me."

"Do you ever regret joining?" Ryuu asked.

Both remained silent. Ryuu nodded and sighed, rubbing his temples. "Sorry. I have a killer migraine now. I'm going to head home. See you tomorrow."

"See you," Sai smiled.

Ryuu left the field with Fu, Fu flying them to Ichiraku's, Fu buying her own this time. Then, once they had eaten, they headed up to the top of the Hokage Monument to watch the sunset. As they sat there, Ryuu wrapped his arm around Fu's waist, holding her close to himself, Fu leaning on his shoulder and Ryuu setting his head on top of hers.

"You'll be careful, right?" Fu asked. "During the Chunin Exams?"

"Of course Fu," Ryuu smiled. "I'll be just fine."

Fu smiled and nodded, slipping her hand into his, lacing their fingers together. Ryuu smiled, stroking his thumb over hers. A few minutes later, the last of the light had bled from the sky and Fu flew them back to Ryuu and Sasuke's house. Ryuu led her inside, silently making his way into the house and peeking into Sasuke's room. What he found was something that nearly had him rolling on the ground laughing. Sasuke was trying on a tuxedo, examining his reflection in the mirror. He covered his mouth, fighting to remain silent.

"If you're going to watch, you could at least help," Sasuke said after a moment.

Ryuu burst into a fit of laughter for a moment before pushing the door open and walking in, looking in the closet and at the dozen or so suits of varying shades of blue and black. Again he fought not to laugh.

"What's the occasion?" Ryuu asked.

"First date," Sasuke said. "To that nice restaurant over on the other side of the village."

Ryuu pulled out a navy blue suit and tie with a button-up white shirt, laying it out and grinning widely. "Sakura?"

Sasuke grumbled something and turned away, holding the suit up in front of the mirror. This time, Ryuu really did laugh.

"Just put it on you freaking girl," Ryuu laughed.

Sasuke blushed and hurled the tuxedo's jacket at him, Ryuu catching it and laying it out before walking to the door.

"By the way, Fu's going to be staying with us for around a week, so when you and Sakura get back here to make out, try not to wake us up."

Then, he slipped out, shutting the door just before Sasuke's shoes thudded against it loudly, Ryuu laughing. He led Fu to his room, shutting the door behind them and sighing.

"Finally finished," he sighed, sitting on his bed. "That was the longest training session I've ever had. Kurenai's ruthless."

"She did seem to be going awful hard on you," Fu agreed, pulling her top off and dropping her skirt.

Ryuu shouted in surprise, looking away, face turning scarlet instantly. "Fu, w-what the hell are you d-doing!?"

"What do you mean?" Fu asked.

"W-Why are you..."

"Hm?" Fu looked down then back up at him. "I almost always sleep naked."

"You didn't on the ship!" Ryuu said, holding his hand up to block her body from his sight.

"It was cold on the ship," Fu shrugged. "Why? Should I not?"

"Why do you want to?" Ryuu asked.

"It's more comfortable this way," Fu shrugged. "Besides, I need to do my laundry."

"B-But...you can't just...I-I mean..." Ryuu struggled to form a complete sentence.

"Would you prefer that I keep them on?" Fu asked. "They're sweaty and smell bad."

Ryuu swallowed hard before sighing. "A-Alright. You can w-wash them. B-But after that, p-please put them b-back on. A-And don't l-let Sasuke s-see you walking around like that."

Fu smiled and nodded, giving him a bone-crushing hug before picking up her clothes and turning invisible. The door opened and closed again for several minutes. Ryuu climbed into the bed after it had closed, lying down and struggling to force the mental image of Fu removing her clothes from his mind. He was probably in for a long night. After a bit, the door reopened and he glanced over at it just as Fu reappeared, still not wearing anything.

"God...Fu! Why aren't you dressed?" Ryuu asked.

"They have to dry," Fu said. "Unless you want wet clothes in your bed."

Ryuu groaned, holding his hands over his eyes. After a couple of seconds, he felt Fu's weight settle on the bed as she climbed in, covering herself with the blankets.

"I don't see why you're making such a fuss anyway," Fu said. "We're all born naked. Wearing clothes is more unnatural than not."

"Please stop talking about it," Ryuu said, carefully peeking at her, sighing as he saw she was covered, even if only by the blankets.

"Okay," Fu shrugged. "Anyway, I'll get them tomorrow morning and put them on."

"I said you had to put them back on once they were clean!" Ryuu said.

"Yeah but it'll take that long to dry," Fu said. "Besides, You won't have to worry about it. You'll be asleep."

With that said, she scooted over, cuddling up to him and wrapping her arms around him. Ryuu swallowed hard, hyper aware of everywhere their bodies made contact. They may be young, but he was still a male. And she was still extremely attractive. Ryuu shook his head, trying to force the thoughts away. He rolled away from her, hoping it would help. It didn't. Neither did her snuggling up to his back a moment later, pressing herself into him with a contented sigh, already asleep. He tried to get away from her but she wouldn't let go. He couldn't even roll onto his back again.

"Fu," Ryuu said.

"Hm?"

"I need to roll over."

"Mm."

He sighed when she didn't move, but just as he was going to try and move her again, she released him, allowing him to shift onto his back again. Then, she flopped on top of him, head on his chest and her hands out to her sides, her leg, naturally, landing between his, as if he didn't have enough trouble keeping his thoughts clean. After a moment, a smile grew on her face.

"Someone's nervous," she said, looking up at him.

His eyes widened massively and he began to try to stammer out a response, only for her to giggle.

"Relax," she smiled. "Close your eyes."

He swallowed hard and closed his eyes. Then, he felt her hand slip into his, her head settling back onto his chest. Then, slowly, he actually did begin to relax. Finally, his heart had slowed to a normal pace and he began to drift off to sleep finally.

* * *

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	19. Chapter 19

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

First Exam

Ryuu stepped into the exam room and stopped. He wasn't late, exactly, he was just the last to arrive. Well, him and his team. Yugao had insisted on testing how their teamwork had grown over the course of their week of training, and as such, they arrived just in time to find the rest of Naruto's graduating class, plus Kabuto Yakushi, standing at the back of the room with a Hidden Sound trio. Well, most were standing around. Kabuto was on his knees in front of a puddle of vomit.

"What's going on?" Ryuu asked.

"Another one?" one of the trio, a hunched over boy with bandages around everything but his left eye, a fur pelt on his back, and a grey shirt with the sleeves too long, said in his raspy voice. "Well, I suppose I'll just have to fight you t-"

Suddenly, a cloud of smoke exploded into existence in the front of the room.

"Alright you baby-faced degenerates!" a harsh voice shouted. "Pipe down and listen up!"

The smoke began to clear, revealing a dozen chunin and one man with a trench coat and scars across his face.

"It's time to begin, I'm Ibiki Morino, your proctor," the man with the scars said in that same harsh voice.

Just then, a pair of arms grabbed Ryuu from behind, nearly crushing him as a grin formed over his face. Fu released him and stepped back, grinning.

"You're a part of this too?" Ryuu whispered as Ibiki was talking, his Sharingan tracking Ibiki's lips so he would know what he was saying.

"Shibuki decided to let me take part," Fu nodded, also whispering. "He sent a couple of bodyguards to pretend to be my team."

"That's excellent," Ryuu grinned. "Don't knock me out of the exams too soon, okay?"

Fu nodded as everyone began to line up. Fu looked around in confusion.

"We have to turn in our Chunin exams paperwork and get assigned a seat," Ryuu said.

He walked over to stand in line, Sai and Shin following and Fu and her teammates, one with a gaunt face, bushy light brown hair, a black midriff shirt under an open grey jacket and dark grey pants, and one with black hair combed back, a broad face, dark green pants, and a light grey turtleneck under a dark blue vest with two scrolls attached to the front, got behind them. As they were moving forward, Ryuu looked around carefully using his Sharingan, determined to keep it active at all times. Finally, he got his seat, walking over to it and sitting down, finding Naruto to his right, Hinata on the other side of her, Sai and Shin in front of him on opposite ends of the table, and Fu to his left. Ryuu grinned. The set up was perfect. Ryuu could use his Sharingan to copy off Shin and Sai, and Fu and Naruto could copy off him. He was sure that Hinata would be fine, but if necessary, she had her Byakugan.

"Everyone, eyes front!" Ibiki snapped after the last person had sat down. "There are a few rules you need to be aware of, and I won't answer any questions, so you better pay attention the first time around. Alright, rule number one is this. The first part of the exam is conducted on a point reduction system. Contrary to what some of you may be used to, you all begin the test with a perfect score of ten points. One point will be deducted for every question you get wrong. So if you miss three, your final score will be seven. Rule number two. Teams will pass or fail based on the total score of all three members."

"Wait a second!" Sakura shouted, Ryuu instantly realizing that Naruto was the one that might fail her team. "You're saying we all get scored as a team!?"

"Silence!" Ibiki said, Ryuu turning around so Sakura would see he was beside Naruto. "I have my reasons. Now shut up and listen. Rule number three. The sentinels you see positioned around the room are there to watch you carefully for any signs of cheating. And for every incident they spot, they will subtract two points from the culprit's score. Be warned. Their eyes are extremely sharp, and if they catch you five times you'll be dismissed before the tests are even scored. Anyone fool enough to be caught cheating by the sentinels doesn't deserve to be here. If you want to be Shinobi, then show us what exceptional shinobi you can be."

Ryuu restrained a smirk. It wasn't a don't cheat rule. It was a don't get caught rule. Perfect.

"One more thing," Ibiki spoke up. "If any candidate should get a zero and fail the test, then the entire team fails."

Ryuu heard Sakura's head hit her desk and saw the panic on Naruto's face. He kicked him, Naruto looking over at him and Ryuu tapped his paper. Naruto looked back at his own, tapping his fingers on his own to agree.

"The final question won't be given out until fifteen minutes before the end of the testing period," Ibiki said. "You'll have one hour total. Begin!"

Ryuu sighed, lowering his head eyes raised just enough to see his own paper and Sai's hands. One was writing the answers rapidly and easily. The other, was in a Seal of Confrontation on his leg. Ryuu's eyes flicked to Shin, seeing chakra laced ink forming the answers on Shin's paper, remaining thin enough to be mistaken for pencil, which Shin was using to go over the ink anyway. If Ryuu had to guess, Sai would remove the ink before the tests were collected anyway. He returned his eyes to their previous position, continuing to fill out the test, using his own knowledge for a couple of questions, such as the physics of a shuriken thrown from a hand from release to ground. And it meant all of the physics. A diagram, wind resistance, gravity, the Earth's rotation, light distortion, heat waves for a summer day, sweaty hands. All of it.

Beside him, Fu had most of the paper filled in as well, eyes flicking to his every time he finished a question, which she then copied down perfectly, with a few words changed to make it pass a plagiarism check. To his other side, Naruto's eyes were similar to Ryuu's, partway between, not enough to cause suspicion. As a result, he had misspelled a couple of words, and got a couple words mixed up. But it was enough to pass. Ryuu hoped.

Suddenly, a kunai came flying through the air, carving a scratch into Naruto's cheek, Naruto freezing, eyes wide as the genin behind him shouted in fear, the kunai sticking into his test.

"You alright?" Ryuu asked.

"Yeah," Naruto responded, voice clipped.

"What the...what was that all about?" the genin whose test the kunai was in asked.

"Five strikes and you're out," one of the chunin around the room smirked. "You just failed the test."

"What? It can't be!" the genin said.

"You and your teammates'll leave the room immediately," the chunin said.

The genin stared at him as his teammates left. He followed and the chunin began to call out different numbers, genin in those seats leaving as well, their teammates following. One had to be dragged out, shouting about it not being fair. Another tried to argue but he was pinned to a wall by the throat for a moment as the chunin kindly explained that they were chosen specifically because they were the most observant. Then, he kindly gave the genin another chance to leave with his teammates, which the genin did. As the test progressed, Ryuu noticed that Naruto had stopped copying. At the same time, he decided to call it quits. He was starting to get tired from his Sharingan. He closed his eyes, sighing as he deactivated them, before opening them again. Fu finished copying what he had, then set her head down, closing her eyes. He yawned, covering his mouth, then leaned back, setting his feet on the desk beside his test and tilting his head back, seeing a ring with four mirrors on it attached to the light, the wires attached to the mirrors extending to Tenten's pencil. He closed his eyes, restraining a smile. Smart. Maybe not the most inconspicuous, but still smart.

He cracked an eye open and froze. There was a floating eyeball staring at his paper. He moved his legs over the paper and the eyeball swiveled toward him, then to Fu's paper, which she was laying on. Then Naruto's, which he was also on top of. Then, it began to float away. Ryuu activated his Sharingan, staring at the eye. It was made of sand. He deactivated them, lazily looking around until he spotted the jutsu's use. A Hidden Sand shinobi with a back shirt and pants, a white cloth wrapped around him, a massive gourd on his back, and blood red hair. He was holding one hand up with his fingers over his eye, but Ryuu could only see him from behind and slightly to the side so he couldn't tell who the boy was. He seemed off though. Besides being perfectly calm, there seemed to be an air of danger around him.

Suddenly, another Hidden Sand Shinobi raised their hands, asking to use the bathroom. A chunin volunteered to go with him and they left the room, the genin wearing handcuffs as they did. Then, Ryuu glanced at the clock. Time for the last question.

"Alright, listen up!" Ibiki shouted. "Time for the tenth and final question!"

Ryuu sat up, taking his legs back off of the desk and shaking Fu awake. She smiled up at him before sitting up, stretching and yawning before looking to Ibiki who raised an eyebrow at her, several Genin staring in shock. Ryuu picked up his pencil, twirling it lightly as he waited for ibiki to continue.

"But, before I give you the question there are some more rules that you need to be aware of," Ibiki said.

Just then, the Sand Ninja and his escort walked back in, the genin freezing upon seeing everyone watching Ibiki in silence.

"Ah, made it just in time," Ibiki said. "I hope you found your trip to the bathroom enlightening."

Ryuu smirked. _B_ _usted,_ Ryuu thought, Sharingan staring at the chakra threads running from the well-disguised puppet to the genin. He had skill. That was for sure.

"Well?" Ibiki said. "Take your seat."

The ninja walked back to his seat, Ryuu's sharingan catching a tiny roll of paper, barely bigger than his pencil's lead, falling out of his hand to a female Sand ninja as he passed. Then, he sat down and Ibiki continued.

"These rules are unique to Question Ten," Ibiki said. "Listen carefully, and try not to let them frighten you. Rule number one. Each of you is free to choose not to be given the final question. It's your decision."

"Whoa! So what's the catch? Let's say we decide we don't want to do it. What happens then?" the female sand ninja that had received the tiny scroll from asked.

"If you choose not to take the tenth question, regardless of your answers to the other nine you'll get a zero. In other words you fail. And that means, of course, both your teammates fail as well."

People around the room began to murmur, asking what kind of choice it was to choose to fail.

"Not so fast, you didn't let me finish," Ibiki said. "If you do accept the question but answer it incorrectly, you will not only fail...you will be barred from ever taking the Chunin Exams ever again!"

Ryuu felt his mouth drop open and his pencil dropped to the desk. He wasn't serious, was he? There had to have been other people who retook the test, or else there'd be more adult genin running around.

"Hey that's bull man! That's ridiculous!" Kiba shouted, standing up. "What kind of bogus rule is that!? There's lots of people here who've taken the test before."

Ibiki began to laugh. "I guess you're just unlucky. I wasn't making the rules before. But I am now. Of course, if you don't want to take it, you don't have to. If you're not feeling confident then by all means, skip it. You can come back and try again next year."

He waited in silence, allowing the information to process. Ryuu saw Sai and Shin both glance back at him and he gave them a thumbs up. He was taking the question. He didn't have a real team to hold back anyway, since they were both ANBU.

"Now then, if you're ready, the tenth and final question," Ibiki said. "Those who don't want to take it raise your hand. Your number will be recorded and then you're free to go."

Ryuu waited patiently, seeing the panic on Naruto's face. Slowly, genin began to opt out all over the room, some times entire teams at once, rather than two being disqualified for one. Still no one from Ryuu's class quit. Then, slowly, Naruto's hand rose, trembling. Ryuu grit his teeth. Naruto was quitting? Naruto? He was the most stubborn person Ryuu knew. Besides maybe Fu. If he was out, maybe he was the only smart one in the group for a change.

"Na-" Ryuu was cut off by Naruto slamming his hand down.

"Don't underestimate me!" Naruto shouted, standing up. "I don't quit and I don't run! You can act tough all you want! You guys aren't going to scare me off! No way! I don't care if I _do_ get stuck as a genin for the rest of my life! I'll still be Hokage some day!"

With that, he sat down, Ryuu holding back a laugh. He should have known Naruto was just going to say something stupid. Leave it to Naruto.

"You're an idiot," Ryuu laughed. "But, if you're going for it, I might as well go for it with you."

"This decision is one that could change your life," Ibiki said. "If for any reason you would rather quit, now's your last chance."

"No way, I never go back on my word," Naruto said. "That's my ninja way."

Ryuu smirked, looking around the room. Everyone looked confident. Apparently, having someone more clueless than them taking the question was good for morale.

"Well then, I admire your determination, if nothing else," Ibiki said. "For those of you remaining, there's only one thing left to do. And that's for me to tell you...that you've all passed the first exam."

Ryuu blinked twice, staring at Ibiki in silence. The others were in a similar state.

"Hold on, what just happened?" Sakura asked. "What do you mean we passed? Where's the tenth question?"

"Actually there never was one," Ibiki smiled. "Not a written one at least. Your decision to stay was the answer to the tenth question."

"Wait a second!" the female Hidden Sand Ninja spoke up. "So the other nine question you gave us were just a waste of time, is that what you're saying?"

"The first nine were to test our ability to gather information without being caught," Ryuu spoke up. "An important skill in the Shinobi world, and also one that could determine victory or defeat. Having information about the enemy determines battle tactics, location, and timing. On the other hand, false information, or information from an untrustworthy source, could lead you into an ambush. In some cases, false information could end up being worse than no information at all. Isn't that right?"

"Impressive," Ibiki said, reaching up and taking his bandana off, revealing his head to be covered with more than a couple of knife scars.

His scalp was marred with jagged scars from blades, puncture scars, and burns. All clear evidence of torture.

"Information can be among the most important things in the shinobi world, as you said," Ibiki said. "But the point of the test was simple. It's better not to cheat, than to cheat clumsily. Getting caught while gathering information can be very unpleasant."

"Okay," the sand ninja spoke up again. "But I'm still not getting what the tenth question thing is all about."

"You're not?" Ibiki asked. "The tenth question was the main point of the whole exam. Surely you see that."

"Let's just pretend we're all as simple as Naruto here," Ryuu said, Naruto glaring at him.

"Hey!" Naruto whined, several others laughing, including Ibiki.

"As I said before, the goal was to test you not only as individuals but as part of a squad," Ibiki said. "The final question gave you two choices, both difficult. You could choose to play it safe and skip the question, though it meant that both you and your teammates would be failed. Or you could try and answer it, knowing if you got it wrong you would lose your chance at ever being Chunin. It was a no win situation. but just the sort Chunin have to face almost every day. For example, let me give you a hypothetical mission. To steal a document from an enemy stronghold. You have no idea how many ninja the enemy has, or how heavily armed they are. Furthermore, you have reason to believe the enemy expects you. That you might very well be walking blindly into a trap. Now do you have an option of taking a pass on this mission? Of saying my comrades and I would rather live to fight another day? Can you choose to avoid danger? No. There will be many missions that seem almost suicidal if you think about it. But you do not think about it. You think only of the goal, and of achieving it through courage and discipline. These are the qualities required of a chunin squad leader.

"Those who choose the safer of two paths, those who falter in the face of adversity, those who would put their comrades lives in jeopardy by worrying about their own, those who would save their own necks at the price of sacred honor will never be able to call themselves chunin. At least as long as I'm here. As for the rest of you, you have successfully answered the ten questions I've put to you. You have earned the right to continue on to the next step. you have passed through the first gate. I hereby declare the first part of the Chunin Exams completed. There's nothing left but to wish you all good luck."

"Alright we did it!" Naruto cheered, beginning to dance around.

Ryuu grabbed him by the collar, dragging him back into his seat.

"You're giving me a headache Naruto," Ryuu sighed. "Would you calm down. The first exam's always the easiest, and you damn near fell apart."

Just then, a ball of red fabric smashed through the window, a pair of kunai being hurled out of it, staking the top corners into the ceiling and unravelling a massive banner that read, Chunin Exams: Part 2.

"Heads up boys and girls, this is no time to be celebrating," the woman that had been inside the cloth said.

She wore a mesh shirt and shorts, a tan trench coat ending at her knees, an orange skirt, shin guards, and a necklace that looked like a maroon chess pawn hanging upside down with a single horn on one side of the head. Her purple hair was tied into a very messy pony tail.

"I'll be your next proctor, Anko Mitarashi," the woman introduced herself. "Ready for the second test?" She threw her fist into the air. "Good, then let's go! Follow me!"

Everyone stared at her in confusion, except Ryuu who was covering his mouth to hold his laughter in. He liked her. She was going to be a fun proctor. _Tomorrow._

"You're early, again," Ibiki said, Anko blushing furiously, still holding her fist over her head.

"How many are there?" Anko asked, dropping her hand. "Ibiki, you let all these guys pass? Ibiki, your test was too easy. You must be getting soft."

"Or it could be a stronger crop of candidates this year," Ibiki said.

"Hm, they sure don't look it," Anko mused, looking around the room, stopping at Ryuu for a moment. "Trust me, before I'm done with them, more than half will be eliminated."

Ryuu smirked. That would mean that either she's over confident, or in the next test they would have to eliminate another team to pass.

"More than half?" Sakura gaped. "Seriously?"

"This is gonna be fun," Anko smirked. "Alright you maggots have had it easy so far. But, things are gonna be different starting first thing in the morning. I'll let your squad leaders know where you're to meet me. Dismissed."

Genin began to leave quickly instantly. Ryuu stood, eyes locking with Anko for a moment. She seemed familiar somehow. But he couldn't place where they might have met. He figured he'd remember someone with her personality. He turned, following Fu out of the room. Once they were outside, Fu cheered, throwing her arms around him.

"We made it!" Fu cheered.

"Well, it helps that you have two chunin taking the exam with you and I have to ANBU, but yeah, we did," Ryuu laughed.

"Oh they're Jonin," Fu smiled. "Anyway, it seemed like Anko might have recognized you."

"Yeah, I feel like I know her from somewhere but I can't remember where," Ryuu said, scratching the back of his head. "Oh well. What do you want to do?"

Fu grinned, grabbing his hand and running toward her favorite part of town. "Shopping!"

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	20. Chapter 20

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

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Exam Preparations

Ryuu stepped up with the others and stared at the area before them. A massive, circular forest known as the Forest of Death. It was filled with poisonous plants and insects. And soon, a bunch of battling genin, if Ryuu had to wager a guess.

"This is the location of the second phase of the Chunin Exams," Anko said. "It's the Forty Fourth Training Zone. But we call it the Forest of Death."

"It's not that intimidating," Ryuu said. "Just don't eat anything you don't recognize and check your sleeping bag for insects and snakes. Oh, and of course, watch out for the other genin. Am I right?"

"Well well," Anko grinned. "We've got a tough guy."

Ryuu smirked as a kunai dropped out of her sleeve. She hurled it at him but he raised his hand, slipping it through the ring on the pommel, spinning it and hurling it back, the kunai scratching her cheek and sticking into the fence behind her. She stared at him in surprise before wiping her cheek, a sadistic grin spreading over her face.

"Well well, you _have_ matured well," Anko grinned, licking the blood off her finger. "It's just a shame I can't compete. I'd love to teach you to respect your elders."

"As tempting as that offer is, I'll have to turn you down," Ryuu said. "I'm not interested in dying today."

Anko's grin grew before she straightened up, retrieving her kunai. "Now, before we begin, I have something to hand out to you all. It's just a standard consent form."

"What for?" Naruto asked.

"Some of you may not come back from this test, and I have to get your consent to that risk," Anko explained. "Otherwise it would be my responsibility."

Anko began to laugh as a chunin handed the stack to the first genin, who took one and passed it off. The stack passed down the first row and Ryuu signed without bothering to read, holding the form out.

"Done," Ryuu said.

"Ya know, kid, I'm starting to like you," Anko grinned.

"You didn't even read it?" Sasuke asked.

"It's a combat test where all means of force are allowed," Ryuu said. "You could die, you could be maimed, you could be driven insane. All it's saying is that you're not afraid to die."

Sasuke stared at it before shrugging, also signing without reading. After a few minutes, the forms were finished.

"Alright, let me to explain the test," Anko said. "The Forty Fourth Battle Training Ground has forty four locked gates spread around the fence, with a locked tower in the center. The tower is exactly ten kilometers from each of the gates. The test itself consists of an anything goes battle, to get your hands on these scrolls." She held up two scrolls, one white with the kanji for Heaven and one blue with the kanji for Earth.

"Both of them?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes," Anko nodded. "You'll be fighting to get both a Heaven scroll and an Earth scroll. Altogether, twenty eight teams will be taking part in this test. So half of those teams will be going after the Heaven scroll. The other half will be going after the Earth scroll. I'll hand over one kind of scroll to each team and that's what you'll be vying for."

"Okay, so how do we pass the test?" Sasuke asked.

"Your entire team must bring both the Heaven and Earth scrolls to the tower," Anko said.

"In other words, it's like you said," Ryuu said. "At least half of the teams will be eliminated this round."

"That's right," Anko nodded. "Oh and one more thing. The test has a time limit. You must finish it within five days."

"Five days out there!?" Ino shouted.

"What are we supposed to do for food!?" Choji demanded.

"Just look around," Anko said. "The forest is full of things to eat. There's plenty to feed all of you."

"On the other hand, there's also poisonous plants and insects, I'd wager at least a few giant snakes, obviously regular venomous snakes will be a threat," Ryuu said.

"That means, with these circumstances, there's no way that half the teams will pass the test," Neji said.

"Surrounded by enemies on all sides," Sasuke said. "There won't be time to rest. We'll have to keep a constant watch."

"Right," Anko agreed. "This test is also designed to test your endurance behind enemy lines. This is designed to be a grueling test. And I'm sure some of you won't be up to the challenge."

"So um, let's say mid-exam, can we quit," Shikamaru spoke up.

"Of course not," Anko said. "In the middle of a battle you can't say, 'sorry, I quit.' Well I guess you could but it's probably going to get you killed."

"Oh just great," Shikamaru groaned. "This is gonna be a drag."

"There are also some ways you can get disqualified," Anko said. "The first is simple. If all three teams can't make it to the tower with both scrolls in five days. Number two, if a team loses a member or if a member becomes incapacitated and cannot continue. But most importantly, none of you, absolutely none of you, may look at the contents of the scroll until you reach the tower."

"What if it just happens to flop open and you read it?" Naruto asked.

"Let me put it to you this way young man," Anko grinned. "You...don't...want...to...know."

Naruto sighed.

"Alright, that's it," Anko said. "Everyone line up over there to exchange your forms for scrolls. After that, pick a gate and be ready to start."

With that, she walked away and the chunin at the booth beside the gate who were in charge of exchanging waivers for scrolls pulled a red curtain across the front of the booth. Ryuu sighed, stretching and walking away from the others, leaning against tree to wait. Within seconds, Fu was beside him. He smiled, sitting down with Fu leaning on his side.

"So, five days in the middle of the woods," Fu said. "It's a good thing our teammates are used to this sort of thing."

"That they are," Ryuu nodded, chuckling. "We're practically cheating the entire way through."

"Only until we get to the part of the exam where we inevitably have to fight against them," Fu said. "Yoro says that's always the last part."

"Probably," Ryuu nodded. "Still, at the very least for this part we can work together."

Fu nodded. "Which team do you want to go after first?"

"Anyone but the Sand trio over there or those Grass Ninja," Ryuu said, indicating the two groups.

The Sand group was comprised of the kid with the gourd, the kid with the puppet on his back, and the girl that had gotten the scroll, who held a massive folding fan on her back. The grass ninja were different. Two seemed to be Chunin level, but the third was a monster. Even without being able to sense chakra levels he could feel it rolling off of them. They had a black bodysuit under a manila-colored tunic and a sugegasa with a tag hanging off of it.

"That Grass Ninja _is_ terrifying," Fu agreed. "How about we start with those Leaf Ninja over there."

She pointed at a random group of Hidden Leaf shinobi, none of whom Ryuu recognized, and Ryuu nodded.

"Sure, but we'll need to be careful," Ryuu said. "Lee's going to want a rematch with you."

Fu nodded and they glanced at Lee, Neji, and Tenten, who were standing together off to one side, talking.

"Alright, we're gonna start handing out scrolls!" one of the chunin announced.

Fu and Ryuu stood, their teammates landing around them.

"I take it we'll be working together?" Shin asked.

"Yes," Ryuu nodded. "At least for this exam. The last one's usually a tournament, right?"

He looked to Fu's bodyguards and they nodded. Ryuu sighed and the two teams got into line. A few minutes later, they walked back out, Ryuu having sealed the scroll into his storage scroll with his clothes and emergency food supplies, which it seemed, would be coming in handy. Once Fu was out, the two teams headed away from the booth, finding a pair of gates beside each other and waiting. A few minutes later, a chunin unlocked the gate and swung it open and they all rushed inside, turning to meet each other instantly.

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	21. Chapter 21

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

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Day One

Ryuu looked around carefully as they travelled. He wasn't a fan of the Forest of Death. It was silent, dark, creepy. Everything you'd expect from the name. Beside him, Fu remained silent, also scanning.

"I don't see anything," Fu reported.

"My ink mice haven't spotted anything either," Sai added.

Ryuu nodded. Then, after a few more branches, he stopped.

"We've been going for half an hour," Ryuu said. "We should be a little more than halfway in. If we wait here, we'll find someone with both types of scrolls. So, time to fess up." He held out his Heaven scroll. "Fu?"

Fu held out her Earth scroll. "If we meet someone with both, we'll have everything we need."

Ryuu nodded. "Sai, how long can you maintain your mice?"

"As long as I want," Sai said.

"Alright, your mice will be the first line of defense," Ryuu said. "Any of you have sensory abilities?"

The other three shook their heads and Ryuu nodded.

"It's fine, we'll take shifts. I'll watch first," Ryuu said.

"So, let me get this straight," Yoro said. "Your entire plan is to just sit here, hoping someone stumbles upon us with two scrolls?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Ryuu shrugged.

"And what if no one does?" Yoro asked.

"If by day three we haven't met anyone, we'll move to the tower," Ryuu said. "Eventually, someone will have to pass us to complete the exam."

"It's a fair strategy," Shin said. "I agree."

"I say we just take your scroll and be done with it," Yoro said.

"No," Fu said. "We're not taking Ryuu's scroll."

"Why not?" Yoro asked. "I'm sure they can get another."

"I said no," Fu said.

"Hate to interrupt," Sai spoke up, several ink mice running over and forming words on his scroll, "but apparently someone wearing green is headed directly toward us."

"Lee," Ryuu sighed. "You ready for him Fu?"

Fu nodded, grinning and cracking her knuckles while Ryuu stepped up beside her, cracking his neck. Then, Lee, Neji, and Tenten all stepped out of the trees, Lee grinning and Neji simply staring at them.

"Well well, it looks like Neji was right," Tenten said. "You were planning to work together."

"Hello Tenten," Ryuu smiled before it dropped. "Neji."

"Fu, I wish to have a rematch against you!" Lee stated. "Please fight me!"

"Absolutely," Fu smiled. "But first, what scroll do you have?"

Neji held up an Earth Scroll, Fu doing the same.

"Just for fun then," Ryuu said.

"Actually-"

"Shut up Sai," Ryuu said, Neji's eyes gluing themselves to Ryuu as his Byakugan activated. "Great. Alright Neji, yes. I'll fight you for it."

Neji readied himself, Ryuu, Fu, and Lee doing the same. Then, all hell broke loose.

Ryuu wasn't sure what happened first. It might have been the trees to his right exploding, Yoro and Kegon vanishing in the hail of debris. It could have been the ground in front of him ripping apart as though from an explosion below. It could have been the paper bombs all around the clearing exploding, scattering smoke and debris everywhere. Or it might have been the fireballs raining from the sky. All Ryuu knew was that he was suddenly lying on the ground with his ears ringing and his left arm severely burned and broken. He inhaled and began to cough as his lungs and throat burned. He forced his eyes open, staring at the scorched, smoking wreck that had been a clearing. The smoke was too thick to see properly, and there was still dust hanging in the air, but he could make out his scroll on the ground in front of him. For a moment.

Then, a pair of shinobi appeared over it, one of them kicking it away while the other grinned. The one that kicked it wore a stone mask with slit eyeholes and a frown, a sugegasa on his back, a black gi over a long-sleeved mesh shirt, black pants, and open-toed boots. The other wore black clothes under a tattered dark grey poncho, a sugegasa on his bald head, and had purple war paint around his mouth like lipstick. Ryuu could hear a warbling noise that was probably them speaking, but he couldn't make out their words. He began to stand, but his head spun and he fell to the ground again. The warbling increased as the two laughed, until Fu and Lee appeared in front of them, both kicking their opponent and sending them flying. Lee had a gash on his side that was bandaged haphazardly, and had blood coating the side of his face. Fu looked to have escaped most of the damage and instead had only a few cuts and scrapes and one nasty bruise on the side of her face that would likely swell and turn into a black eye. Then, both of them vanished into the smoke after their opponents. Ryuu tried to stand again, but again his head spun and he collapsed. Then, the smoke lit up several times and Fu flew out of the smoke, landing in a roll and stopping beside him, blood running down the bruised side of her face now and her clothes singed around the edges. She reached down, placing a hand over each of his ears and a green light filled his vision for a moment before his ears cleared.

Instantly, the sounds of battle hit him and he sat bolt upright, staring at the smoke, activating his Sharingan. With them active, he was able to see the flicker of Lee and either one or two shinobi inside the smoke, fighting. He couldn't tell who was who, or who was winning, though. He pushed himself up, holding his hand out and firing a Gale Palm from it, clearing the smoke. Just as he did, Lee spun, the bo staff he was holding slamming into both shinobi and launching them into trees, cratering them.

"My thanks, Ryuu," Lee said, landing beside him, panting and with one eye closed and swelling, as well as the blood filling it from his head injury. "They're good at using misdirection, and they're surprisingly good at Fire Style jutsus."

Ryuu nodded, looking down at his arm as Fu finished healing it. He flexed it and rolled his shoulder a couple of times before nodding, walking forward with Fu. The two shinobi landed in front of him and Ryuu recognized them as the teammates of the much more terrifying Grass Ninja he had seen before.

"You guys fucked up," Ryuu said. "You missed."

"Well, our orders aren't to kill you," the one with the mask said. "Our boss wants you alive."

"That other Grass Ninja pretending to be a genin, you mean?" Ryuu asked. "I see. If I had to guess, he wants my Sharingan, which means your boss is probably dealing with Sasuke and his team right about now. I'll have to go and help them after we deal with you."

Both shinobi crouched and Ryuu and Fu shot forward. The shinobi met their charge, Ryuu sliding under a haymaker and slamming his hand into their gut, placing a gravity seal, dropping his opponent to the ground. As soon as he did, he spun, seeing Fu flip over a fireball that was headed for him.

"Oh terrific," he grumbled, leaping over it only for it to explode on the ground, hurling him anyway.

He landed hard, groaning and beginning to push himself up, watching as Fu thoroughly beat her opponent into the ground. He couldn't match her speed or strength. But he still wasn't alone. When Ryuu was blasted, his gravity seals had faded, allowing the other shinobi to stand. Ryuu sprinted forward just as a barrage of dragon-head-shaped fireballs flew at Fu. Ryuu made his own hand seals as he skidded to a stop behind her.

"Fire Style, Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Ryuu shouted, the jutsus exploding against each other, cancelling out and throwing everyone away from it.

Ryuu groaned, pushing himself up and dusting himself up, then helped Fu up.

"I'm getting really tired of being blown up," Ryuu grumbled.

"Agreed," Fu nodded as her opponent landed beside his, both forming hand seals. "Now what?"

"Fire Style, Searing Migraine!" they both shouted, twin streams of flame shooting out of their mouths and joining, growing rapidly as they fanned out across the ground in a wall ten feet high.

"Oh that's not okay," Ryuu said, forming hand seals of his own. "Wind Style, now!"

"Wind Style, Ripping Cyclone!" Fu shouted instantly, slamming both hands into the ground.

Instantly, a massive tornado formed, sucking up the flames and turning into a massive flaming funnel reaching nearly double the height of the trees. It shot toward the two enemy shinobi, but when they scattered, the flames suddenly shot straight upward, the tornado vanishing as the flames burned themselves out, leaving a cloud of smoke above them. Just as the two ninja landed, Fu appeared over her opponent, kicking him straight down into the ground, breaking his neck and killing him, and Ryuu slammed an axe kick into the other, shattering his mask and dropping him to the ground just as numerous ANBU appeared around them.

"Relax," Ryuu said. "Just dealing with some genin imposters."

One of the ANBU landed over Ryuu's opponent, placing a chakra disruption tag on him. A moment later, his flesh began to flake off. When it was finished, an entirely different person was lying there.

"He's a missing nin!" the ANBU reported.

"Bring him with you," another said. "We'll let the Hokage decide how to deal with him. How's the other?"

"Dead," the ANBU checking him reported.

"Bring him too then," the leader said.

The ANBU nodded, picking the body up just before they all vanished.

"That was..." Fu trailed off.

"Unusual," Ryuu finished. "Lee, you alright?"

Lee nodded as Neji stepped into the clearing, supporting tenten, whose side was covered in blood, though she was bandaged now. Neji held out Ryuu's scroll but he shook his head.

"Get her to the tower," Ryuu said. "We'll figure something out after we save Sasuke and the others."

Neji nodded and took off with Tenten and Lee. Then, Fu looked around.

"Know where our teams went?" Ryuu asked.

"We're here," Shin said as the four of them walked out of the trees, all battered and bloody but alive. "So, no scroll now, huh?"

"We'll find someone," Ryuu said. "Sai, can you tell which way Sasuke and the others-"

Just then, a strong gust of wind, almost strong enough to knock them over, blew through the clearing. They all stared at one another.

"That's the tail end of a Wind Style jutsu," Yoro said.

"Alright then," Ryuu said. "We'll start there."

Then, he turned, heading the direction the jutsu had come from, the others following.

* * *

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	22. Chapter 22

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Orochimaru

Ryuu looked around at the destruction as they ran. The jutsu, whatever it had been, had destroyed a lot. But they were nearing the area the jutsu had come from, and judging by the chakra Ryuu could feel pressing down on them, the fight was just ahead. Just as this thought occurred to him, he landed on the side of a tree, running around it and stopping, seeing naruto pinned to it by a kunai through his jacket, unconscious. A ways away and a little below them, Sakura and Sasuke were on a branch opposite the Grass Ninja leader, now with half of his face's false skin melted and with a massive hole in the tree behind him, looking to have been blasted by a Fire Style Jutsu. Except, Sasuke and Sakura weren't moving, and Sakura was on her hands and knees.

"If you're finished why don't you just beat it!" Sakura was saying. "If we never meet again it'll be too soon!"

"Oh, he and I will meet again," the Grass ninja said, voice smooth yet incredibly unsettling, reminding Ryuu of a snake.

That image was completed even more when the ninja made a hand sign like the tiger sign but with his middle fingers crossed over his index fingers. His head shot forward, his neck stretching as though he were made of rubber. His mouth opened impossibly wide and he exposed snake-like fangs. At the last second, Ryuu appeared behind Sasuke, his foot slamming into the ninja's head less than a second before he could bite Sasuke, sending the head and neck flying sideways and crashing into a tree, the neck wrapping around a branch several times. His body fell limp, dropping to hang from the neck, swaying slowly.

"Why don't you cut the act?" Ryuu said. "If your neck can stretch like that, obviously it wouldn't break so easily, and if you can survive whatever jutsu blasted that hole in the tree with so little damage, obviously I'm not killing you today. Now stop playing possum, Orochimaru of the Legendary Sannin."

"Oh, I'm famous even among this generation," Orochimaru said, neck retracting, pulling his body to the top of the branch before unwinding from it as Orochimaru stood, grinning widely. "How did you know it was me?"

"Because you're far beyond the levels of even the Jonin and ANBU I've trained under, and you've got abilities that make you like a snake," Ryuu said. "It's possible for you to have been someone else with similar abilities, but you're the only one that would have any interest in acquiring Sharingan. That _is_ why you sent those two henchmen after me, isn't it?"

"Not bad," Orochimaru grinned. "You're smart. Very observant."

"The only question I have is, why were you trying to bite my cousin?" Ryuu asked.

"I was giving him a power known as a Curse Mark," Orochimaru said. "He'd thank me if you had let me."

"Why would anyone _want_ to be branded with something that has 'curse' in the name?" Ryuu asked. "That sounds like exactly the kind of power I don't want."

"I wasn't offering it to you," Orochimaru said. "Sasuke is the one whose Sharingan I intend to claim as my own. Yours I intend to study."

"Well, I'm happy to let you know that neither of those is going to be happening," Ryuu said.

Orochimaru grinned wickedly, falling away as mud. Ryuu spun, activating his Sharingan as Orochimaru appeared behind Sasuke, bending down to bite him.

 _CRACK!_

Orochimaru crashed through three trees before cratering a fourth, staring at Fu, who was crouching behind Sasuke, watching him analytically, eyes flashing around the area every couple of seconds.

"Oh, sorry," Ryuu said. "Did I forget to warn you about her? My bad."

Then, ink snakes shot out of a hole in the tree beside Orochimaru, binding him and beginning to glow. Orochimaru shouted in surprise just as the tree came alive, tree-colored ink falling away as paper bombs shot off of the tree onto Orochimaru and the snakes. Then, they exploded, the blasts lasted nearly a straight minute before ending, smoke filling the area. Sai and Shin landed off to one side, both holding their tantos, and Kegon and Yoro landed on the other, Kegon holding several Water Shuriken in each hand and Yoro replacing one of his scrolls, his free hand holding several shuriken.

"Did we get him?" Yoro asked.

"Don't count on it," Ryuu said. "He's Kage level, if not higher."

The smoke began to thin, revealing Orochimaru standing there, badly burned and with his right arm missing just below the shoulder, half of his face burned to the muscle. He glared at Ryuu, eyes seeming to glow slightly in the light of the small fires still dotting the blast area.

"You little brats," Orochimaru snarled. "You want to play? Fine. But I warn you, I play rough!"

Suddenly, he began to gag, tipping his head back. Then, pale fingers reached out of his mouth, pushing his mouth open before a second Orochimaru, this one fully healed, stepped out, covered in slime and saliva and bile. The wounded one crumpled to the branch at the new one's feet, and Ryuu growled in annoyance.

"He shed his skin to heal himself," Ryuu snarled. "I hate snakes."

Then, Orochimaru's arms shot outward crashing to the ground where the two teams used to be, scattering them as Orochimaru shot toward Fu and Ryuu. Fu charged first, throwing a punch at him only for Orochimaru to catch her fist, hurling her to the side. Ryuu crouched, readying himself. He hadn't fought using the Body Flicker Technique yet, but he had been practicing. And his brother was so good at it that he could create clones of himself by using it constantly, so technically the jutsu ran in his family.

Orochimaru threw a punch at Ryuu and Ryuu activated the jutsu, ducking out of the way before ending it and slamming an uppercut into Orochimaru's bottom rib, twisting his entire body and hurling Orochimaru backward, hopefully with that rib snapped off. Just as Orochimaru landed, a wall of Water Shuriken flew at him from one side and a wall of normal from the other. Orochimaru opened his mouth, a jian blade extending from his throat before he began to spin, twist, and bend in inhuman ways and at inhuman speeds, the blade extending and slashing the shuriken out of the air rapidly, not a single one getting through. The ink snakes were a different story. Once again, they swarmed out of a knot hole int he tree, wrapping around Orochimaru's body again, this time one limb at a time, not binding his body. At least, until they had wrapped around his entire body. Once they had, Sai slammed both hands into the ground and the ink snakes exploded, leaving an intricate seal formula over Orochimaru's entire body, the seal leaving Orochimaru motionless.

"Now!" Sai shouted.

"Fire Style, Dragon Flame Bomb!" Ryuu shouted, sending a stream of white-hot flames shooting through the air at Orochimaru.

"Fire Style, Great Dragon Flame Jutsu!" Sasuke shouted, landing beside Ryuu and sending a dragon-head-shaped ball of fire at Orochimaru.

"Fire Style, Searing Migraine!" Fu shouted, adding her own Fire Style Jutsu to the mix.

All three crashed into Orochimaru in a massive explosion, Ryuu, Sasuke, and Fu nearly being launched by the concussion. As the smoke began to clear, all three spun, Orochimaru punching Fu and Ryuu away, grabbing Sasuke by the face and biting him just as Sai and Shin slashing across the front and back of the abdomen, splitting him in half. Sasuke shouted in agony as a black mark consisting of three black tomoe appeared on the back of his neck where he had been bitten. Then, snakes shot out of Orochimaru's several portions, reconnecting him just before his upper body spun, his hand blasting Sasuke away before his legs jumped and twisted, kicking the two ANBU away as his body parts joined. Then, he landed on the side of a tree, beginning to sink into it.

"I win," Orochimaru grinned.

"Fire Style, Blockbuster!" Fu shouted, hands on the tree above him.

Orochimaru's eyes widened just as the tree exploded level with him, the entire tree for nearly twenty feet being reduced to shrapnel. Both teams got out of the way, with Ryuu taking Sasuke, by hiding behind other trees, but Orochimaru was caught by the blast itself, then the shrapnel after it, crashing down hard on the ground, a hundred meters below them. Ryuu dropped to the ground, landing on front of Orochimaru as he began to push himself up, Fu landing opposite Ryuu.

"Still feeling lucky Orochimaru?" Ryuu asked as Orochimaru shed his skin again.

"Damn you!" Orochimaru snarled, gagging up a jian with a snake-themed hilt. "Your bitch of a girlfriend is obnoxious!"

"She is quite the powerhouse isn't she?" Ryuu smirked.

"Yes, quite," Orochimaru growled before grinning. "Catch!"

He hurled the sword like a javelin, the blade extending even as it flew. Ryuu managed to deflect it with his tanto, but just as he did, Orochimaru ducked under a punch from Fu, slamming his finger tips into her abdomen, five violet flames burning at the tips of his fingers. Fu shrieked in agony before being launched backward into a tree and left unconscious. As soon as his seal was placed, Orochimaru spun, ducking as Ryuu slashed at him, passing him and landing at Fu's side, checking for a pulse.

"She'll live, but she'll be out for a while, especially now that her Tailed Beast has a second level of seals on it," Orochimaru grinned. "Imagine my surprise, two Sharingan wielders _and_ two Jinchuriki in one day."

Ryuu turned to Orochimaru, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, eyes narrowed and Sharingan glowing slightly.

"Oh, is the pacifist going to try and kill me now?" Orochimaru smirked. "Sure you want those nightmares?"

"You don't know what nightmares are," Ryuu snarled. "Allow me to show you."

Orochimaru grinned as Ryuu exploded into a flock of crows, the sky above him turning the color of blood and screaming beginning to echo through his head.

"Oh please," Orochimaru laughed. "You'll have to do bette than some screaming to scare me."

Then, his back exploded into pain. He dropped, gritting his teeth. Then, his face was in agony. His arm, foot, face, other arm, back, groin, foot, groin, face. Orochimaru staggered forward, staring down at his body as blood poured from his numerous gashes. He grinned, biting his hand and the gashes vanished. Just as they did, Ryuu's hand slammed into his side.

"Fire Style, Dynamite Punch!" Ryuu shouted, an explosion shooting off of his palm and sending Orochimaru flying.

He crashed to the ground hard and pushed himself up as Ryuu appeared before him, slashing him across the face. Orochimaru staggered backward, clutching his face and screaming as three Ryuus appeared around him, each slamming a hand into him.

"Fire Style, Dynamite Punch!"

Three explosions went off around Orochimaru at once, keeping him trapped in the center of the explosions. All three clones were destroyed, allowing Orochimaru plenty of room to collapse as Ryuu glared at him from a distance, something shiny in his hand. Orochimaru began to push himself up as Ryuu tugged on the thing, Orochimaru recognizing a metal wire just as metal wire burst out of the ground, binding him, including a wire wrapping around his head to keep his mouth shut.

"Fire Style, Dragon Flame Jutsu!" Ryuu shouted, a stream of flames shooting along the wire and exploding as it hit Orochimaru.

As the flames died down, Ryuu turned, yanking on the wires. As a result, the ends around Orochimaru sliced through his skin with ease, shredding it. Unfortunately, it was only the skin. Orochimaru himself was already standing before Ryuu again, breathing harder than before but with murder in his eyes.

"I've run out of patience, boy," Orochimaru snarled, holding his hand out, his sword shooting into it.

Ryuu exhaled a Vacuum Blade onto his tanto, readying himself. Orochimaru began to laugh.

"Oh that's rich," Orochimaru laughed. "You think I'm going to fight you."

Orochimaru stabbed with his sword, the blade shooting outward, slamming into Ryuu's Vacuum Blade and launching him backward. Ryuu planted his feet just as his Vacuum Blade shattered, vanishing instantly, reappearing behind Orochimaru, slamming both hands into him and placing a pair of Gravity Seals as high as he could make them, equalling somewhere around fourteen times gravity. Orochimaru crashed to the ground hard enough to crater it, his leg bones snapping and his knees being forcefully dislocated. Ryuu leapt away, landing on his feet as Orochimaru's mouth began to stretch open again. Just as he stood yet again, Anko landed behind him, a kunai to his throat.

"It looks like you've had your hands full, Orochimaru," Anko snarled. "I'll do you a favor and put you out of your-"

She stopped talking suddenly, looking down at the glowing blue blade extending from Orochimaru's chest. Then, Orochimaru fell away into mud, leaving only her to be impaled on his now glowing Jian. It had missed anywhere fatal, but it was obviously painful and debilitating.

"Nice try, Anko," Orochimaru hissed, striding over to her, gripping his sword's hilt and yanking it out, letting Anko crumple to the ground. "But I'm in no more mood to play."

He picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder as Ryuu appeared in front of him, only for his foot to crash into his gut, launching him backward. He crashed into a tree as his and Fu's teammates appeared around Orochimaru. Orochimaru spun, slashing them all shallowly across the chest, throwing them all away before sinking into the ground, glaring at Ryuu as he did. Ryuu tried to get to him but his ribcage flared in pain and he collapsed again, coughing up blood. Sai and Shin appeared in front of him after a moment, carefully helping him up and over to a spot where they could take cover under a tree's roots, Yoro and Kegon doing the same for Fu and Sakura doing the same for Naruto and Sasuke.

"So, in the end, he was able to bite Sasuke anyway," Sakura said. "And he kidnapped our exam's proctor."

"Sai, report Anko's kidnapping," Ryuu said. "They'll probably have to stop the exams. As for Orochimaru biting Sasuke, we made him work for it. I'll choose to be proud of that."

Sakura nodded as Ryuu dragged himself to Fu, examining the seal now spread over her stomach.

"Dammit," Ryuu growled. "Five Pronged Seal. I was afraid that was what I was seeing."

"Can you fix it?" Yoro asked.

"Well, I watched him place it with my Sharingan," Ryuu said, writing down the seal's formula on a scroll. "Thanks to that, I should be able to. but it's going to take me a but to get it right."

"Okay," Yoro said. "We'll rest here until the others wake up."

"The four of you need to bandage your wounds," Ryuu said. "Sakura, can you handle watch?"

"Yes," Sakura nodded. "I've got it."

Ryuu nodded, carefully laying himself on the ground beside Fu and closing his eyes, passing out within seconds.

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	23. Chapter 23

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Tricks

Ryuu groaned, rolling over only to grit his teeth, biting back a shout of pain. Having broken ribs and sleeping on the ground didn't go well together. He grunted with effort as he pushed himself up, very gently leaning back against a tree root. Not much better. Possibly worse.

"Yeah, I'm not sleeping for a while," Ryuu groaned, shifting onto his knees and unrolling the scroll with Orochimaru's seal information on it. "Let's see."

He set it down, forming several hand seals before holding out his hand. Tiny purple flames lit on his fingertips, but they were barely bigger around than needles.

"Shit," Ryuu sighed, letting them fade. "Alright, let's try again."

He began to try again and again, getting small flames, a big flame on a random finger and the rest tiny, not getting a flame at all for some. Finally he sighed, lowering his hands.

"This might be a problem," Ryuu sighed.

"Is it really that hard to figure out how to open a seal?" Sakura asked.

"Well, the Five Pronged Seal is different from one person to the next," Ryuu said. "Orochimaru's is more different than most. His is much stronger, though. In order to unseal it, I'd have to be able to create it first."

"Really?" Sakura asked.

"Yes," Ryuu nodded. "I'm no seal master so that's the easiest way. A seal master could probably just unseal it outright, but I'm not that good."

Sakura nodded just as the trees rustled. They both turned only to see a squirrel step out of the bushes. Ryuu hurled a kunai, sticking it into the ground and scaring the squirrel off.

"Why'd you do that?" Sakura asked.

"There's a paper bomb on its back," Ryuu said. "Looks like we've been found. Come on out!"

The Hidden Sound Genin stepped out of the bushes, all three of them grinning. However, just as they did, Shin, Sai, Yoro, and Kegon landed in front of the tree.

"I see," the ninja with the fur pelt on his back growled. "So we're going to have to fight a pair of Jonin and a pair of ANBU to get to Sasuke huh? Very well."

He shot forward but before he had taken more than a few steps, the ground below him gave way. He shouted in surprise as he fell before a kunai with a rope shot out of the pit, hitting a tree branch and he pulled himself back up.

"Impressive," he smirked. "I'd wager this clearing is probably filled with traps by now."

"That it is," Ryuu nodded. "If you think you can get past all of the trap, and our guards, feel free. Until then, you're shit outta luck."

"I see," the ninja nodded. "Zaku, traps."

"On it Dosu," his male teammate nodded.

Zaku stepped forward, holding out his hands. He wore a baggy beige shirt with the Kanji for "Death" printed on it three times, grey cammo pants and scarf, and black cloth bracers, along with a mask-style forehead protector. The thing that caught Ryuu's attention, though, were the small metal tubes extending from his palms. Just as Ryuu noticed this, both tubes unleashed a blast of what seemed to be sound waves and chakra-compressed air combined, blasting all of their traps apart. Ryuu nodded, impressed.

"Compressed air mixed with sound waves," Ryuu nodded. "Crude, but effective."

Then, Dosu shot forward, Shin and Kegon both moving to stop him. He punched at Kegon, Kegon leaning out of the way before Dosu swung a backhand at Shin, who caught it beside his head. The effect was instant in both cases, both shinobi dropping to the ground, vomiting as blood leaked out of their ears. Ryuu's eyes widened as Sai shouted in rage, charging, drawing his tanto. Ryuu shouted for him to stop but he ignored the warning. He began to slash at Dosu rapidly, Dosu grinning and blocking one of the slashes. Almost instantly, Sai was on the ground, screaming in pain and clutching the sides of his head.

"Yoro, stay back," Ryuu said as Yoro took a step forward. "His gauntlet's dangerous. It uses vibrations from impact or the wind to generate Ultra-high-frequency sound waves that he then amplifies with chakra and controls into his opponent's ear. It then damages the inner ear, destroying his opponent's equilibrium and leaving them unable to defend themselves."

Yoro waited as Ryuu forced himself to his feet, gritting his teeth as his broken ribs protested.

"The other one, Zaku, uses those tubes that were implanted in his arms to generate sound waves mixed with chakra-compressed air, that then turns into a decently powerful attack. I'd wager the power depends on the chakra content. As I said before, crude but effective."

"Who are you calling crude!?" Zaku spat. "You Uchiha just copy everyone else's jutsu!"

"That's fair," Ryuu nodded "We do have a tendency to copy. After all, that's one of the main uses of our Sharingan." He turned to the girl. "So, judging by the theme of your teammates, you must also use some technique related to sound. Instrument? Flute right? you look like you could be a flute person."

"Actually, I use senbon," she said, holding up two.

"Oh I see," Ryuu nodded. "Fair enough. Anyway, you're not getting to Sasuke. None of you are."

"We'll see about that!" Zaku shouted, sprinting forward.

Just as he did, Ryuu slid his foot sideways, knocking a kunai with a metal wire attached out of the ground, releasing the trap. A huge log shot toward them out of the trees to the left, but Zaku turned, blasting it into splinters. Then, Sakura tackled him, beginning to beat his face like a drum, only for the girl to grab her by the hair, hauling her off and holding a kunai to her throat.

"Enough," the girl said. "Bring us Sasuke or she dies."

"I wouldn't advise you do that," Ryuu said. "You're making a rookie mistake right now."

"What's that?" the girl smirked.

"Pulling hair," Ryuu said as Sakura's hand flashed up with a kunai, cutting her hair before she dover to the side, Ryuu extending his hands. "Wind Style, Gale Palm!"

A pair of jets of Wind Style chakra blasted into the girl and Dosu, blasting both of them into a tree, knocking the girl out. Then, Zaku turned toward, him, holding out his arms before freezing, teeth clenching.

"Sorry we're late," Shikamaru said as he stepped out of the bushes, Zaku's arms slowly lowering to his sides, adopting the same position as Shikamaru.

Behind Shikamaru, Choji walked in, carrying an unconscious Ino.

"What's wrong with your friend?" Dosu asked just before his own female teammate slammed a kick into his head, launching him sideways into a tree.

"What the hell's wrong with you Kin!?" Zaku shouted.

"So, your friend's controlling her, is she?" Dosu asked, grinning. "Excellent. Zaku, blast her!"

As he gave the command, Dosu also hurled a kunai with a paper bomb at Shikamaru and Choji, both scattering as the kunai exploded, Shikamaru's jutsu ending. Zaku spun, firing a blast at his controlled teammate, blasting her into a tree and once again rendering her unconscious.

"That's kind of cold," Ryuu said, carefully kneeling beside Fu again, forming several hand seals before five purple flames finally grew to life on his fingertips. "Finally."

The flames turned blue and he pressed them to the Five Pronged Seal on Fu's abdomen. The seal flashed and faded and Fu sighed in her sleep, but didn't wake up. Ryuu looked out of the tree again as Zaku made a dash for the tree, only for Sakura to trip him, trying to restrain him again. Instantly, Zaku slammed an elbow into her face, beginning to beat his fists into her face, Sakura crying out in pain each punch. Ryuu tried to stand only for his ribs to throb agonizingly and he fell back to his hands and knees. Then, he looked up as Sasuke appeared behind Zaku, holding one of his arms in place on a back swing.

"I'd appreciate it if you would stop hurting my girlfriend," Sasuke snarled.

Zaku began to turn only for Sasuke to spin, hurling him into Dosu, hard. Ryuu stared at him, and at the black flam-like pattern that his Curse Mark had become, spreading over his body.

"Um, Sasuke, are you alright?" Ryuu asked, Sharingan active and watching as dark purple chakra flooded off of him. "You've got a little bit of Curse Mark...well...everywhere."

"Are you alright Sakura?" Sasuke asked.

"Y...Yes," Sakura said, clearly not but pushing herself up anyway, face bruised, swollen, and bloody.

"Liar," Sasuke growled, reappearing in front of Dosu and Zaku, holding them up by their heads before slamming them together and hurling them away from each other, only to reappear a moment later, catching Zaku by one arm, swinging him around to kneel before him and grabbing his other arm, putting his foot between Zaku's shoulder blades. "You're pretty fond of these arms. And I'm not very fond of what you've done with them. Guess I'll just have to take them from you."

He pushed with his foot, yanking on Zaku's arms. After a moment, Zaku screamed as there was a grinding, tearing sound followed by a loud snap. Zaku screamed again, beginning to sob as well. Sasuke grinned sadistically, bloodlust shining in his eyes.

"Now for the other one!" Sasuke grinned.

"Stop!" Sakura shouted, her arms wrapping around Sasuke, making him drop Zaku, who landed in a sobbing heap. "Don't do it! That's enough!"

Sasuke stood there, motionless, but after a moment his Curse Mark turned the color of fire and receded to it original state.

"We're leaving," Dosu said, setting his Earth Scroll on the ground. "In exchange for our lives, take our scroll."

He appeared in front of Sasuke, carefully picking up Zaku, then reappearing beside Kin, picking her up before vanishing. Sasuke dropped to his knees, groaning.

"It's over," Ryuu sighed, looking around at his and Fu's teammates. "You four okay?"

"Wonderful," Shin said. "I feel pathetic."

"I mean, I would have expected Kegon and Yoro to do a little better," Ryuu said.

"Oh shut up," Yoro grumbled. "This never happened."

The four of them began to push themselves up, swaying slightly, before making their way over to the tree and sitting down heavily. Ryuu lay down, groaning as his ribs shifted. Then, he opened his eyes, staring up into bright orange ones.

"You're awake," Ryuu noted.

"And you're hurt," Fu responded. "What happened?"

"Orochimaru kicked me and broke my ribs," Ryuu said.

Fu nodded, holding her hands over his torso as green light began to shine from them. Ryuu groaned as he felt his ribs shifting. Then, slowly, the aching faded.

"I reset your ribs and was able to heal them partially, but you're going to have to be careful for a while," Fu said. "They'll be weak for about three weeks."

Ryuu nodded, setting his head against the ground, sighing. Fu moved to Sakura next, healing her face from Zaku's assault, then healed their teammates as well. Finally, she finished, lying down beside Ryuu, resting her head on his shoulder gently, one of her arms draping across his abdomen. He smiled, wrapping his arms around her and closing his eyes.

"In the morning, we're going to have to find our scrolls," Ryuu said. "It's already day two, also, so we should start heading toward the tower."

Fu nodded and Ryuu tilted his head to the side, resting it against hers before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

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	24. Chapter 24

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Waiting

Ryuu stepped out of the trees, stopping as he looked across the river, seeing a group of Konoha ninja sitting on the other side, gathered around one of their scrolls. One reached out to the scroll, gripping one side of it.

"Weren't we told not to open those?" Ryuu called out, the ninja shouting in surprise, dropping the scroll which, thankfully, stayed closed. "Sup guys. I'm Ryuu. How many of those do you have?"

"We have both," one of them said. "Now why don't you just get out of here."

"Can't do that," Ryuu said. "You see, my team an I are going to need to borrow those for a bit."

"What team?"

"Us," Shin said as he and Sai appeared around the three genin, forming a triangle.

The three genin scrambled to their feet, drawing kunai. However, before they could do anything, Ryuu appeared in the center of their group, tapping each in the center of the back, placing a paralysis seal on each. Then, he knelt, picking up their scrolls and sealing them away in his storage scroll.

"Much better," Ryuu smiled, turning to the trees as Fu and her bodyguards stepped out of them. "Now, to find you two a Heaven scroll."

"Let's head for the tower," Fu said. "Like you said in the beginning, eventually someone will have to pass us."

Ryuu nodded and they left, heading toward the tower. They travelled in silence, no one speaking, and everyone looking around constantly. After fighting Orochimaru's henchmen, Orochimaru, and the Sound Ninja, they'd all had enough fighting for one test. Granted, they needed to fight once more to get Fu a scroll, but still.

Finally, they stopped at the base of the tower, turning away from the tower and waiting. After about ten minutes, a beetle flew over, Ryuu raising his hand as the beetle landed on it, beginning to sap his chakra.

"Oh a Parasitic Insect," Ryuu smiled. "Hello Shino. You can come out. We're not going to fight you guys."

After a moment, the insect left, returning to Shino as he, Kiba, and Hinata walked over.

"Why are you guys waiting out here?" Hinata asked.

"Fu still needs a Heaven Scroll," Ryuu said.

"And you're not going to try and take ours?" Kiba asked.

"Why would I?" Ryuu snorted. "Shino's too good a tactician for it to be an easy battle, and I'm too tired and in too much pain for a drawn out one."

"What happened?" Hinata asked.

"Oh I fought someone much stronger than me and broke a few ribs," Ryuu shrugged.

"Actually you broke most of them," Fu said.

"Eh, details," Ryuu said, waving her off. "Anyway, you guys go ahead inside. We'll be in in a bit, hopefully."

Hinata nodded and her team headed into the tower. Ryuu and the others continued to wait until, finally, a team of Hidden Rain ninja arrived, these ones wearing purple flak jackets, cloth masks over their face, and carrying katanas.

"Look at that," one of them said. "I told you we could find our scroll here."

"Shit," Ryuu sighed. "What've you got?"

"We have a Heaven scroll, you?" the ninja asked.

Fu held up her Earth Scroll before tucking it away again, smiling. "Shall we?"

The ninja grinned, pulling his sword back in preparation of a slash and began to charge, only to find Fu before him, fist drilling into his stomach. She took the other two down equally easily and took the scroll from them, walking back to Ryuu and the others.

"You know, you are terrifyingly strong," Ryuu said.

"I know," Fu smiled.

The six of them walked into the tower and were met by Iruka. Iruka's smile dropped the moment he saw them and he motioned for them to follow, walking into a small room where there were cameras displaying different spots in the Forest of Death. Standing before the monitors were Kakashi, Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuhi, and the Hokage.

"Ryuu Uchiha," Hiruzen sighed, turning to him, the others doing the same. "What happened."

"First, we were attacked by two missing nin disguised as Hidden Grass Ninja," Ryuu said. "We defeated them just before an ANBU team arrived. While we had been fighting them, they said their boss wanted Sasuke, so once we were done fighting them, we went to find Sasuke and his team. We found them in time to keep Orochimaru of the Sannin from biting Sasuke and placing a Curse Mark on him. We tried to fight him, but during the battle he managed to put the Curse Mark on Sasuke anyway. I tried to continue fighting him after Sasuke and Fu were both incapacitated, but I was incapacitated as well. I was awake enough to see Anko try to stop him but he stabbed her then disappeared with her."

"So she's dead?" Kakashi asked, Ryuu glancing at him.

He could swear he had detected the barest hint of a waver in Kakashi's voice.

"No," he said. "The spot he stabbed her wasn't inherently fatal, and I know there was no poison on the blade because both my teammates and Fu's were also wounded with the sword but are fine. I believe that it's more likely that she's still alive, but she's being held prisoner."

Hiruzen nodded, taking a very long draw from his pipe before sighing it back out. "If he's taken her alive, he'll most likely be either experimenting on her or torturing her. Either way, I'm not so sure if she'll survive it."

"There's no way to know that for sure, though," Kakashi argued, sounding more like he was reassuring himself than the Hokage. "Anko's not weak. She could survive. And she escaped him once before."

"No, he left her behind before," Hiruzen corrected. "But you're right. Anko is very strong. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see."

"You mean we're not going to go looking for her?" Kakashi asked.

"We can't," Kurenai said. "The missing nin we caught had a message from Orochimaru. If we stop the chunin exams, Anko dies and he'll destroy the village. He passed the message along just before he bit a cyanide capsule."

"Dammit," Kakashi growled. "What then, we let them all stay in danger?"

"For now, yes," Hiruzen nodded. "For now, we attempt to draw Orochimaru out."

"And when we do?" Kakashi asked.

Hiruzen was silent for a moment. "When we do, I will deal with him myself."

Kakashi nodded, glancing back at Fu and Ryuu.

"Oh, uh, you two can go," Kakashi said. "Be careful from now on."

Ryuu nodded and walked back to the main room, Fu following. Their teams walked over to meet them and Ryuu sighed.

"So, basically, Orochimaru said we can't stop the test so we're going to continue," Ryuu said.

"Lovely," Kegon sighed. "Well, I suppose that means we have two days to wait."

"Well, technically a day and a half," Ryuu said. "By noon tomorrow, all the teams not here will be disqualified."

"We should go to the waiting area," Fu said. "It's upstairs, right?"

"Yeah," Ryuu nodded. "They should have food. And beds, thank God."

Fu giggled, taking his hand as they all walked upstairs, finding themselves in an open room like a common room, empty besides the other teams. Among them were, unsurprisingly, the Hidden Sand team, Neji's team, Hinata's team, Shikamaru's team, and the Hidden Sound Team.

"How the hell did they beat us here?" Ryuu grumbled.

"They must have found another team while we were resting last night," Shin said. "Come on. Let's get some food. I'm starving."

Ryuu nodded his agreement and they walked down the only hallway leading out of the room. The first door they passed was a male bathroom, then a female one. The next room was a large room with a bunch of messy, unmade beds. Then, at the end of the hall, they walked into a chow hall, complete with a couple of chunin who were waiting to serve food.

"Hey guys, come on over," the chunin invited.

They walked over, the chunin handing them all plates of curry and smiling.

"Fair warning, it's pretty bland," the chunin said. "They won't let me serve anything decent here. But I figure it's better than whatever you were eating out there, right?"

"Well..." Ryuu grinned, considering telling him about the sandwiches you had been eating the last couple of days. "I dunno. A couple of the bugs out there tasted pretty good."

The chunin actually gagged and everyone chuckled.

"I'm kidding," Ryuu said. "I always have sandwiches sealed away somewhere in case we have to have emergency food."

"Smart man," the chunin nodded. "Anyway, you passed the beds, as I'm sure you saw. No real rules for how you use them, just no fighting or breaking anything."

Ryuu nodded and he and the others sat at one of the tables, eating their Curry in silence before they headed back to the common room, heading over to Neji's team first.

"You guys okay?" Ryuu asked.

"Yes, there are medical ninja here that take care of any wounded genin that show up here," Neji said.

Ryuu nodded, heading over to Hinata's team.

"So, how's the girlfriend?" Kiba asked, Hinata blushing slightly but also looking curious.

"Um, we're not...well..." Ryuu glanced at Fu who was talking to Lee, probably scheduling a rematch.

"What, you ain't had the guts to kiss her yet?" Kiba asked.

"Not exactly, no," Ryuu sighed.

"She's obviously interested and waiting for you to," Shino said.

"Yeah, what are you, a bitch?" Kiba grinned.

"You would know, dog breath," Ryuu growled, Kiba's eyes narrowing dangerously at him.

"Watch your mouth," Kiba snarled.

"I was talking about female dogs," Ryuu said evenly. "That's what they're called aren't they?"

Kiba grit his teeth and ryuu shrugged.

"In any event, it's none of your business, and I don't want your advice," Ryuu said. "Shino's one thing. He's brilliant. But you, you're only a couple steps smarter than Naruto and you have even less luck with women than Naruto."

"What'd you say?" Kiba snarled.

"I said, you're fucking stupid and Naruto has Hinata, whenever I'm able to be around him long enough to make him notice," Ryuu said, Hinata's cheeks turning crimson. "You on the other hand have no one."

"What are you guys talking about?" Fu asked, stepping up beside Ryuu.

"How hopeless Kiba is at romance," Ryuu grinned.

"You piece of shit," Kiba grumbled.

Fu laughed. "I'm sure he could find someone. Maybe someone that really wants a dog could adopt him."

Ryuu and Fu both burst out laughing, as did several of the other teams who had overheard. Hinata hid her own laugh behind her hand and even Shino tugged his collar a little higher. Kiba could only stand there and blush.

"I hate you Ryuu," Kiba grumbled.

"No you don't," Ryuu laughed.

For the next few hours, they mingled with Hinata and Neji's teams, even getting the two to associate with each other, though Hinata and Neji refused to speak to each other, Hinata out of fear and Neji out of contempt. Finally, Ryuu stretched, covering his mouth during a yawn.

"Alright. I'm taking a nap," Ryuu said. "I'm getting sore."

"What happened?" Neji asked.

"Broken ribs," Ryuu said, smiling humorlessly. "Night."

"Goodnight," the others said.

"I should go too," Fu said. "I'm supposed to heal his ribs before he goes to sleep, that way they don't hurt."

Kiba smirked but said nothing, everyone waving as she followed after Ryuu. Ryuu sat on one of the available beds, one he had taken a piece of paper announcing it was available off of, and waited. Sure enough, within a couple minutes Fu walked over, sitting beside him and beginning to heal his ribs, frowning slightly.

"They weakened again," Fu said. "You'll have to go to the hospital to get them treated properly."

Ryuu nodded, waiting for her to finish before laying down.

"You're leaving once the exams are over, aren't you?" Ryuu asked.

"Yes," Fu nodded, remaining seated beside him. "I have to get home."

Ryuu nodded, staring into space, smiling slightly. "Would it be alright if we flew again before you left?"

"Of course," Fu smiled. "We can fly again after this exam ends if you want. Not as fast as last time, since you're hurt, but still."

Ryuu nodded, smiling and patted the bed beside him. Fu smiled, taking her sandals off and setting them beside his, lying beside him, facing him, slipping her hands into his between them.

"I'm really glad we worked together," Fu said.

"Yeah, otherwise the fight with Orochimaru would have been very different," Ryuu nodded.

Fu smiled, shaking her head. "That's not what I meant. I mean that I like spending time with you."

Ryuu smiled, nodding. "Same. I'm glad I was looking up that day."

Fu smiled widely. "You're actually the only person I've ever met that spends as much time as you do looking up. That's why no one ever notices me flying around."

Ryuu chuckled, nodding and rolling onto his back, taking one of his hands back to put it behind his head. "Orochimaru's going to show up again. I don't know if we can survive another round."

"We'll be fine," Fu promised. "I was holding back when we fought him so that I didn't do too much damage, or hurt you. Next time we fight him, I'm not going to hold back."

"I wish I had your confidence," Ryuu smiled. "But then, I suppose you _do_ have more power than I've ever seen you use. I can't imagine what you must have been through."

Fu smiled, shifting to lay on top of him, smiling down at him. "It wasn't all fun, but it wasn't all bad either. And because of it, I got to meet you. So I'm satisfied."

Ryuu smiled then sighed, setting his head back on the pillow, smile shrinking a little. "I think I'll need to unseal Naruto too, when he get here."

"Why do you do that?" Fu asked.

"Do what?" Ryuu asked. "Help Naruto?"

"No, why do you change the subject?" Fu asked.

Ryuu's brow furrowed for a moment before he understood and he sighed, looking to the side again. "I don't know."

"You're lying," Fu said. "Every time we get close to talking about our feelings, you always change the subject. I want to know why."

Ryuu felt his cheeks heating up but remained silent for a bit, trying to decide how to answer. "I just...I lost everything once. I don't want to lose anyone I care about again. But...because everyone I care about is human, and a shinobi to boot, I know that eventually, the people I care about are going to leave. Whether because we drift apart, because they're from another village, or because they die, eventually everyone is going to leave. So...I guess I instinctively developed a habit of trying to keep people from getting too close. I'm not going to pretend you don't know how I feel but...I suppose a part of me...a part of me thinks that as long as we don't talk about it it's not true. That if we don't talk about it, it's not there. And if it's not there, it can't hurt me when you leave."

Fu sighed, nodding and setting her head on his chest, closing her eyes. Ryuu stared at her in silence before closing his eyes as well.

"I don't want to lose you, Fu," Ryuu said, Fu looking up at him. "When I lost my clan, I lost everything. And then I lost a full year of my life on top of that. I was terrified of what else I would lose for a long time. Every night I had nightmares of the night it happened, watching my abusive father give his life to try and protect me and my mother, watching the mother who had spent years pretending I didn't exist telling me to run...holding my mother's severed head just before I was...hurt. It took a year for the nightmares to stop. But, in the end, I was able to get over it. But if I lost you...I would have nothing left. I...I can't lose you, Fu. But I'm too afraid of the knowledge that eventually I will to let you in."

Fu watched him for a moment before smiling, reaching up and kissing him on the forehead. "I'm not going anywhere, Ryuu. I may have to go back to my village after the chunin exams, but then I'm going to request permission to transfer to the Hidden Leaf permanently. Even if I _do_ have to leave, I'm going to be back. And I'll wait for as long as I have to for you to see that I'm not leaving you."

"Why?" Ryuu asked.

"Because Jinchuriki are almost universally hated," Fu said. "So if we ever find someone that accepts us despite knowing what her are, we hold onto them for as long as we can. Jinchuriki fall in love with only one person in their lifetime. Once we do, it won't matter what we have to do. If it means being with them, we'll do it."

Ryuu smiled slightly at her accidental admission before it faded. "Guess that means Hinata's not going to be able to get Naruto then."

"Oh please, Naruto's not in love with Sakura, he's competing with Sasuke," Fu snorted. "And now that Sasuke and Sakura are actually together, it'll be easier for Hinata to get his attention. And before you ask, yes, I'll help you get them together."

Ryuu smiled and nodded, closing his eyes as Fu set her head down, placing her ear over his heart.

"Goodnight Ryuu," Fu smiled.

"Goodnight Fu," Ryuu smiled, pressing a feather-light kiss to the top of her head.

Fu smiled widely, squeezing his hand lightly before letting herself drift off to sleep, Ryuu doing the same.

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	25. Chapter 25

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

History

Ryuu stared at the floor helplessly. Preliminaries. they were going to have a Preliminary round before the finals because too many genin had made it through the second exam. And Hayate was the proctor, as he was for the third exam. Ryuu had only trained with him a couple of times total, but he liked Hayate. And seeing Hayate looking so sickly and coughing ever couple of sentences was unpleasant. Hayate had offered anyone who felt they would lose their fight the chance to quit. Kabuto took the offer, turning and walking out of the tower, Ryuu using his Sharingan to guess at his chakra levels. They were fine for a single battle, plus he knew Kabuto was skilled, easily chunin level, if not higher. But, he was sure Kabuto had his reasons. After all, Kabuto had volunteered to be the one to help him with his rehab.

After Kabuto had quit, everyone else had been taken to the balcony on one side of the room or the other, clearing the lower floor to be the battle area. Ryuu wasn't looking forward to fighting. He had taken a bit of time examining the room, hoping to find some way to gain an edge over an opponent, obviously neglecting to even try to figure out how to beat Fu. The front of the room had a statue of a pair of hands forming the Ram hand seal with five wooden panels set into the wall, two per side and one behind the statue. The upper left panel moved out of the way, revealing a screen that would randomly generate their names. Basically, there was no advantage to be had. The room was a flat square with the statue being the only exception besides the observation balconies on either side of the room, which were off limits to combatants.

Ryuu sighed. He was about to half to fight Fu. He just knew it. His luck dictated he would be stuck with her. He couldn't even challenge her alone on a good day. With his ribs the way they were, he was pushing it not giving up already. A face that Fu was still giving him the stink eye for.

The first match had been short. Sasuke had fought someone named Yoroi Akado. One of Kabuto's teammates, a man who wore a purple bandanna with his forehead protector, a purple cloth hanging from the front of his face, a white short-sleeved shirt under a purple vest, a white cloth around his waist, fingerless purple gloves, and purple pants. The fight had started out with Yoroi beginning to absorb Sasuke's chakra, only for Sasuke to adapt and use a new combo he had thought up and dubbed "Lion's Barrage," consisting of kicking the opponent into the air, jumping up behind them, kicking them in the side, smashing a back fist into their face from the other side, then slamming an axe kick into their gut. In this case, the axe kick had come at the same time as Yoroi hit the ground, making it that much more devastating. The only bad thing about the fight was the fact that Sasuke's Curse Mark had started to activate in the middle of the combo, though Sasuke managed to reign it in.

The second fight had been shorter. Shino against Zaku. Zaku had been using the hand Sasuke didn't break, but in the end, Shino had surrounded him, so he revealed his other arm was healed. Then, his arms practically exploded as he tried to use his air tubes. Shino then took a moment to explain he had plugged them with insects before Zaku was carried away.

Ryuu sighed, looking up at the screen just as it showed Fu and Kegon's names. He sighed in relief. He didn't have to fight her. He felt bad for Kegon though. Both walked to the ring and for several minutes, Kegon put up an impressive fight, using Water Shuriken in time with close range attacks, all the while keeping himself restricted to roughly chunin level. Eventually, though, Fu had knocked him out with a quick chop to the side of the neck. Ryuu grinned. She really was frighteningly strong. He looked up at the screen, his stomach dropping. He was up. Against Kabuto's other teammate, Misumi Tsurugi. He was dressed the same as Yoroi, except that where Yoroi wore sunglasses, this one wore spectacles.

Ryuu walked down to the bottom floor and stopped opposite Misumi, who he could tell was grinning behind his mask.

"Ready?" Hayate asked, looking to Ryuu.

Ryuu nodded and Hayate returned the gesture.

"Begin!" Hayate said, jumping backward to the stand as Misumi shot forward.

Ryuu leapt backward, hurling a shuriken. Suddenly, Misumi's body distorted, head stretching to the side to avoid the shuriken and one arm shooting outward, extending like rubber until his arm wrapped around Ryuu's chest, yanking him back and beginning to squeeze. Ryuu shrieked in agony as his ribs all but collapsed under the very light pressure, one rib even puncturing a lung. Misumi stared at his ribs before up at him.

"What...the hell...happened to you?" he gaped.

Ryuu held a hand out, coughing up blood onto Misumi's face before blasting him with a Gale Palm. Misumi shot away from him but his arm untwisting also sent Ryuu spinning into a wall, breaking more ribs. Misumi stood, wiping the blood off of his face as Hayate began to walk forward.

"F...Fire...Style...Block...buster," Ryuu said, one hand on the ground and Sharingan staring at Misumi.

Then, the floor below Misumi exploded, everyone shouting in fear and shrinking back from the debris. When the smoke cleared, Misumi was lying on the ground, badly burned and groaning, but alive. Ryuu drew his tanto, creating himself a Vacuum Blade and using it to push himself to his feet, barely staying there.

"The winner is Ryuu Uchiha!" Hayate said.

Medics rushed in instantly, two moving to check on Misumi as four went to save Ryuu, who had collapsed again. Fe felt pain as they rolled him over and stared up at the ceiling, the lights seeming to turn slowly. Then, they began to heal him, pain making his vision flare white as the rib in his lung was removed and reset. Then, they sealed his lung, doing what they could to repair his ribs before rolling him onto his side. Suddenly, he began to cough, blood splattering across the ground each time.

"Just get it out," one of the medics said.

Finally, his coughing fit subsided.

"We need to get him to the hospital," one of the medics said.

Ryuu tried to argue but they ignored him, setting a stretcher down and setting him onto it, lifting it and carrying it out of the building. A short while later, he was lying in a hospital bed, a heavy cast around his torso and upper arms and an IV drip with pain killers hooked up to him. He lay there, arms perpetually stuck slightly off the bed, though not supported enough to be comfortable, and stared at the ceiling.

"Well...fuck," Ryuu sighed. "Looks like I'm out of the Chunin Exams by default then."

"Well look who it is," Kabuto smiled, walking into the room. "What happened to you?"

"I fought Orochimaru and ended up having my ribs broken," Ryuu said. "A friend was able to heal them enough for me to continue, but then they got re-broken during my fight."

"I see," Kabuto nodded. "That's got to be painful. Well, at least you can try the exams again later this year."

"I suppose," Ryuu sighed. "It sucks though. I won my fight and still failed the exams."

"Wait, you won the fight?" Kabuto asked. "With broken ribs?"

"Yeah," Ryuu nodded.

"Well then you might be able to continue," Kabuto said. "There's usually a month long wait before the next phase, that way anyone who's made it that far can be at their peak condition and train up for it."

"Really?" Ryuu asked. "Awesome! I'll have a full week to train!"

"Wow, you're in that thing for three weeks? My condolences."

Ryuu chuckled, only for it to turn into a groan. "Dammit. It hurt less to laugh before those butchers tried to fix my ribs. Some doctors they are."

Kabuto laughed, nodding. "Here. I can numb the pain a bit. Maybe even help speed up your recover, though not much. Broken bones are difficult." He held his hands out, green chakra flowing out of them for a moment before he sat back.

"Thanks," Ryuu smiled. "So, how come you quit when we both know you had plenty of chakra left to win?"

Kabuto stared at him in shock.

"I know you had a good reason," Ryuu said. "You always do. So, why give up when you were so close?"

"I...I guess...I just didn't want it enough this time," Kabuto said. "I got to that point and the thought of continuing to fight today just...didn't appeal to me."

"Giving up when the going gets tough huh?" Ryuu asked. "Doesn't sound like the Kabuto I know. Then again, quitting at all doesn't sound like the Kabuto I know. Kabuto, do you remember what you told me during my rehab? About knowing who you're talking to?"

"Not particularly," Kabuto said.

"Well, you said that the easiest way to be a pacifist is to run away from combat, but to be a pacifist and run toward combat, you have to learn to read the people around you, analyze everything about them in moments, and then use that information to your advantage. At the time, I told you that's not how a pacifist works. That's how a skilled fighter, or an expert assassin works. Or a spy."

Kabuto nodded slowly.

"But ya know? I think you might have been right," Ryuu smiled slightly as he watched Kabuto relax subtly, Kabuto having tensed near imperceptibly when he said spy. "Knowing the people around me has been invaluable. Naruto's good at changing people, not because he understands them, but because he's got so much working against him, and yet tries so hard. He puts everything he has into everything he does, and he refuses to stop until he succeeds. He defeats opponents who are a dozen times more skilled just by his persistence alone. I can't change people's hearts the way he does. And I can't simply put more effort into a task to solve it. Because of my Sharingan, my brain is automatically geared toward analyzing and reanalyzing everything everyone does."

"Okay," Kabuto said. "Well, I'm glad my advice was able to help."

"Kabuto," Ryuu said, Kabuto stopping as he was turning to leave. "Tell me your story."

"You already know my story," Kabuto smiled.

"No," Ryuu said. "I know your cover story. I want to know your _real_ story. Not the one of a child raised by doctors. The one about a boy taken from an orphanage by Danzo Shimura."

"How do you know about that?" Kabuto snarled.

"Sai and Shin told me that the Foundation recruits orphans," Ryuu said. "Earlier, when I said the word spy, you tensed. I know you're a spy. And I'm assuming it's for Danzo, for reasons I doubt anybody could ever fathom. However, I know that it's probably hard to find spies who are unquestioningly loyal outright. So, what is it Danzo had over your head to recruit you?"

Kabuto stared at him in silence. Then, he sat down, placing his fingertips together in front of his face. "You're too observant for your own good. To think I can keep from detection by even the Hokage, but a genin is the one to figure it out. Fine. I'll tell you. Yes, I'm an orphan. I have no memory of my family. All I remember is waking up as a child at the orphanage. The person in charge of the orphanage, Mother Nono, found me and brought me back to the orphanage. There was a child there, Urushi, who like to joke around. When he heard I had received a head injury, he gave me a helmet to protect me. Mother Nono decided to name me Kabuto because of it. That night, I got out of bed after curfew to thank her for taking me in. When she found me, she scolded me for being up past curfew, but when I asked what time it was, she realized I had poor eye sight. She gave me her glasses so that I could see." He raised a hand, touching the glasses he was wearing. "My eyesight had been so bad that I couldn't even read a clock. As time progressed, I began to help out with injured Konoha shinobi. Mother Nono was a skilled Medical Ninja, and helped pay for the orphanage by helping the shinobi who were wounded in battle. As I grew older at the orphanage, I learned Medical Ninjutsu from her, trying my hardest to earn the orphanage money, doing my part to repay the debt I thought I owed her."

"It wasn't enough, was it?" Ryuu asked.

"No," Kabuto said. "Danzo came to the orphanage one day, demanding one of us as a recruit in the Foundation. The money we got from helping shinobi wasn't enough for the orphanage, so it required direct funding from Konoha still. Danzo had the authority to withhold the funding. He threatened to if Mother Nono didn't give him what he wanted."

"So you volunteered," Ryuu guessed.

Kabuto nodded. "I was naive. I thought that if I did what Danzo wanted, Danzo would allow Mother Nono to keep the orphanage. In the Foundation, I was trained in espionage. I was turned from a young aspiring Medical Ninja into a spy. And I was good at it. I successfully infiltrated the Cloud, Mist, Sand, and Stone villages, gaining invaluable intel for Danzo each time. However, in the Hidden Stone, I was discovered. I fought the ninja who had discovered me and defeated them. It was only after I had fatally wounded the ninja that I realized it was, in fact, Mother Nono. After I had left, Mother Nono had pleaded with Danzo to have me released from the Foundation. Danzo had agreed on the condition that she, a former member of the Foundation and one of its most successful spies of all time, return to it. Naturally, she agreed. Except, Danzo didn't release me. He tricked her. He sent falsified photos of me to her, the photos of myself slowly being replaced by photos of another boy."

"He brainwashed her to not recognize you," Ryuu said.

Kabuto smirked and nodded. "You'd make a decent spy yourself. You're sharp, attentive. You just lack killer instinct. Yes, he slowly brainwashed her over the course of years to no longer recognize me, making her believe that I was safely at home at the orphanage, just as I believed she was. When we fought, it was because Danzo had ordered her to tie up a loose end. He had intended for one of us to kill the other, while one of his other underlings killed whoever survived. We both knew too much, you see."

"And that's when you met Orochimaru," Ryuu said, Kabuto staring at him silently, face a mask of emotionless, while his eyes shone with several emotions, none of them good. "I'd wager he was the underling who was meant to kill you, right?"

"He was," Kabuto nodded. "Well well. It would seem you really have got me all figured out. How'd you know?"

"Misumi," Ryuu said. "Very few people are capable of fighting the way he and Orochimaru do. Fewer still are capable of performing the surgery that grants that ability."

"I see," Kabuto nodded. "Tell me, how do you know so much about the Foundation?"

"Well, if you're being honest, I will too," Ryuu said. "As I'm sure you know, I was assigned an ANBU as a sensei, since I didn't have a real genin team. After Sai and Shin told me what they could about the Foundation, which wasn't much, I managed to work some more information out of my ANBU Master. Wasn't easy, but it was worth it. For example, I know that there are only four people with the authority to order the execution of an entire clan. The hokage, the Village Elders Koharu and Utatane, and Danzo Shimura."

"Very good," Kabuto nodded.

"Anyway, I'll let you skip telling me about all the...lovely things you've done as Orochimaru's right hand," Ryuu said. "But how did he recruit you?"

"After I was forced to kill Mother Nono, I tried to save her. But she didn't recognize me. not even when I gave her her glasses and told her my name. I was so confused and afraid, that I couldn't save her. Had I been focused, I might have been able to. Orochimaru found me and got me away from the Hidden Stone ninja that were responding to the sounds of our battle, taking me to one of his early hideouts, before he defected. Once there, he told me about Danzo brainwashing Mother Nono. He showed me the pictures. Believing that he was there to finish me off, as Danzo had wished, I attacked him. He defeated me with ease. Of course, I wasn't exactly thinking straight. After having lost the woman who was the closest thing I'd ever had to a mother, and after seeing that even my mother didn't recognize me, I was having a..." he stopped, searching for the right word.

"Identity Crisis?" Ryuu offered.

"Yes, thank you," he smiled kindly, his eyes never having changed from their much more dangerous and entirely negative light yet. "Anyway, I was having an Identity Crisis. Because of Mother Nono, I knew who I was, and where I belonged. If even she didn't recognize me, then who had I become? orochimaru gave me advice. He told me, if you are ever unsure about who you are, simply find something you like about someone else and make it a part of you. Build your own identity. Now, I know exactly who I am."

"Do you?" Ryuu asked. "Then tell me, who exactly _is_ Kabuto Yakushi? What exactly is it that you want in life?"

Kabuto stared at him. "Kabuto Yakushi is a tool of Lord Orochimaru."

"What is it you want in this life, Kabuto?"

Kabuto stared at him yet again. "Why?"

"Because I want to know," Ryuu said. "Because I want to know the real Kabuto. Personally, I think he's a lot closer to the version that everyone in the village knows."

"That's not true," Kabuto growled.

"Then why am I still alive?" Ryuu asked, Kabuto freezing. "We've established, quite plainly, that I know you're a spy for Orochimaru. We've established that you're working against the Hidden Leaf, and yet you haven't killed me yet. Why?"

"I...Because...there's no harm in talking to you before I kill you," Kabuto said, but there was something new in his eyes: doubt.

"Oh come on Kabuto, you're smarter than that," Ryuu said. "Think Kabuto. Close your eyes and do what you do best. The hardest secrets to learn are the ones you hide from yourself. So look in deep and tell me. Who are you really?"

Kabuto stared at him. However, just as he opened his mouth to respond, a door burst open down the hallway and several doctors plus a surgical team sprinted past the door, shouting. Kabuto got up, hurrying to the door and looking out it.

"Kabuto," Ryuu said, Kabuto looking back at him. "I _will_ save you. Naruto may be the one who's good at changing people's hearts for the better, but I _will_ save you from what Danzo and Orochimaru have turned you into."

Kabuto stared at him for a moment longer before vanishing out the door.

* * *

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	26. Chapter 26

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Stuck

Ryuu groaned, laying his head back. He hated hospitals. He had been stuck in one for far too long already, even before his ribs put him back in it. He had been bedridden for his ribs for about a week already. Fu had stayed with him almost constantly since he arrived, leaving only for short training sessions with Might Guy, to use the bathroom, and to visit the other two who were stuck in the hospital.

The first that had come in, and the reason for the commotion that Kabuto had left to investigate had been Hinata, who had fought Neji and apparently almost died when he sent her into cardiac arrest using Gentle Fist, a fighting style that involved sending potent bursts of chakra from one's hands to strike, while keeping physical blows light. The second to come in had been Rock Lee. He had fought Gaara, in what Fu described to be an epic, destructive battle. Apparently, Lee had fought, at first, as he was, but couldn't get past Gaara's protection, sand inside his gourd that he could apparently control with his mind to use as defense and attack at the same time. When Lee realized he was too slow, he had apparently removed weights so heavy that they cratered the ground when dropped, then began to beat Gaara to a pulp since he was too fast to see. After a bit, he had used an attack that Fu called Primary Lotus that involved Lee wrapping him in bandages then spinning and slamming his head into the ground, but it had turned out that the Gaara he hit was only a hollow shell of sand that had apparently been protecting him the rest of the fight like armor. Then, Lee had resorted to something called the Inner Gates, a method of fighting that opened chakra inhibitors along the chakra pathway and allowed for multiple times more speed and strength, in exchange for doing incredible damage to the user's body. After using the inner gates, Lee had dealt a devastating blow to Gaara only for Gaara to turn his gourd into sand to block the worst of it, then crushed Lee's arm and leg.

Now, Hinata was awake and well on her way to recovery. Lee was comatose. He apparently had muscles and ligaments torn all over his body, his bones were all but shattered, and his arm and leg were mangled below the elbow and knee. They were doing what they could for him, healing him more every day. They would be able to restore his arm and leg, and they had probably already healed his muscles, but there were bone fragments in his spinal cord that might never be removed, and he would realistically never be a shinobi again.

Ryuu groaned. His ribs itched. Again. Beside him, Fu smiled knowingly, her hands glowing green as she numbed his torso. Once she was done, she slipped her hand into his, smiling, Ryuu smiling as well, watching her.

"Why are you here?" Ryuu asked. "You should be training."

"No, I should be with the most important thing in my life, who's currently stuck in a torso cast for two more weeks because I was too slow."

"Don't," Ryuu said, face serious. "It's not your fault I'm injured. I was expecting that Orochimaru would do much worse than break my ribs. And with them as weak as they were during my preliminaries fight, it's no surprise that they broke again."

"They didn't break, they collapsed," Fu said. "You're lucky they didn't shred your lungs."

Ryuu sighed, his thumb absently brushing over hers. Fu smiled lightly. After a moment, he sighed again, staring out the window.

"I want to be out of this cast," Ryuu said.

"Only a couple more days," his nurse said, walking into the room, swapping out his IV bag, smiling at Fu. "You're still here huh?"

"Of course," Fu smiled.

"He's very lucky to have you," she smiled. "Most people would have tried to leave from cabin fever by now. I love seeing young couples like you."

She turned walking out and Fu smiled, though Ryuu could see the pain hidden behind her eyes. He looked out the window again. He had always been told that he was more observant than most, even without his Sharingan.

"You're going to have to step out for a moment in a minute," Ryuu said.

"What?" Fu asked, brows furrowing.

Just then, Kabuto stepped into the room, stopping when he saw Fu. "Oh, hello Fu." He smiled, raising a hand. "You're still here are you?"

"Of course," Fu nodded, also smiling.

"Can you give us a minute?" Ryuu asked, squeezing her hand.

"Alright," Fu nodded after hesitating.

She placed a light kiss on his forehead before walking out, shutting the door behind her. Kabuto stood there for a moment before walking over to him, staring at his monitor.

"It'd be so simple right now," Kabuto said. "You couldn't even defend yourself. I could sever an artery with chakra, make it quick. Overdose you on your pain meds. I could put an air bubble in the IV, make it look like your nurse messed up. You're as helpless as a newborn baby right now."

"That I am," Ryuu agreed.

"Have you told anyone about our conversation?" Kabuto asked.

"Why should I?" Ryuu asked. "All I recall is you teaching me a bit about Medical Ninjutsu and numbing my pain."

Kabuto smirked, sitting down, watching Ryuu. "What do you think Kabuto Yakushi is really like?"

"Kind, caring, intelligent," Ryuu said. "Dedicated. He's the kind of person who would volunteer to help someone with their rehab simply to be helpful. He's amazing at Medical Ninjutsu, and he's the beloved adoptive son of Nono Yakushi. He's the kind of person that would volunteer to do unspeakable things in order to help the orphanage stay running, and to help his mother, and his friend Urushi."

Kabuto remained silent, staring at the floor. Then, he grinned, blue chakra beginning to stream along his hand. "Know what this is?"

"A chakra scalpel," Ryuu said. "Capable of being used to easily cut through flesh, or cut things inside a person's body without breaking the skin."

"That it is," Kabuto smiled. "It requires excellent precision to get right, better yet to be used as a weapon in battle. This ability is one of the reasons why Lord Orochimaru gain an interest in me. I excel at using this ability in combat."

"You're a highly skilled Medical Ninja," Ryuu said. "And you're obviously nearly Jonin level, if not already there."

Kabuto chuckled before sighing, the chakra fading. "You really are one of a kind, Ryuu. I hope you continue to remember getting a Medical Ninjutsu lesson. It'd be a shame to kill you. Oh, and I'm going to give you some advice. Don't push Fu away. She's not going to move on from you, and if you lose her without letting her in, it's not going to hurt any less. You love her. The entire world knows it. All you're doing is prolonging your suffering by trying to fight it. Embrace it. Be happy. You never know how long you'll have to be with someone you love." He turned to leave and Ryuu watched him in silence for a moment.

"Who was she?"

Kabuto stopped, turning to look back at him in silence, then sighed, smiling. "I suppose I was kind of obvious with that one. There was a girl in the Hidden Stone Village that I found myself...looking forward to seeing. Orochimaru gave me permission to go see her once but...she realized I was a spy and..."

"I'm sorry," Ryuu said. "I can't imagine."

"I hope you never can," Kabuto said. "You're a good person Ryuu. The best I know. Think about what I said."

Then, he left, Fu walking back in and retaking her seat, smiling.

"What was that about?" Fu asked.

"He wanted to give me advice about my ribs and a few other things."

Fu smiled, nodded as Ryuu took her hand, beginning to stroke his thumb over hers again. Fu looked up to his face, seeing tears glistening in his eyes.

"I really can't imagine," Ryuu mumbled. "I can't even begin to comprehend. He's so much stronger than I could ever hope to be."

Fu remained silent, placing her other hand over the back of his. She could tell what was on his mind. She wasn't going to have that discussion again, though. She had promised to wait, and she would. After a moment, tears began to roll down his cheeks and he grit his teeth.

"I'm sorry," Ryuu said. "I'm so sorry."

Fu smiled, resting a hand on his head, thumb brushing lightly over his forehead. "You don't have to apologize. For anything."

Ryuu managed a smile, even as tears poured down his face and he shook his head. "I don't mean to hurt you. And I feel horrible for doing it."

"You don't need to," Fu smiled. "I'm happy enough just being near you. Happier than I've ever been."

Ryuu closed his eyes, Fu gently wiping his tears away, smiling.

"I told you, I'll wait as long as you need me to," Fu smiled, kissing him lightly on the forehead. "I love you Ryuu. It's getting late. Try and get some sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

Ryuu nodded, squeezing her hand lightly before willing himself to sleep.

* * *

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	27. Chapter 27

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Freedom

Ryuu sighed as the cast finally fell off, landing on the bed and allowing him to gingerly stretch and twist his torso, careful not to break his ribs again but enough to enjoy the freedom of being able to move. It was late in the day, almost sunset, but he was finally out of his cast.

"Alright," the nurse smiled. "Now, you'll still be staying here for about another week, but by the end of that, you should be back to normal."

Ryuu nodded, smiling and sitting on the bed, rolling his shoulder and enjoying being able to move his arms properly again.

"So, what's the first thing you're going to do?" Fu asked as the nurse left with the remains of the cast.

"I'm going to take a proper shower," Ryuu said, standing and picking up the hospital pants and his underwear, which Sasuke had gotten from the house for him. "I'll be out in a couple of minutes."

Fu nodded and Ryuu walked into the bathroom, turning the water on and taking his hospital gown off, stepping in and thoroughly scrubbing himself. After two weeks in a cast, he felt filthy, even after scrubbing himself a third time. Finally, he shut the water off, stepping out and toweling himself off, pulling his underwear and pants on and opening the door, walking back out to where Fu was patiently waiting on his bed. She smiled as he stepped out and he smiled back, glancing outside.

"I hate being stuck in here when it's so beautiful out," Ryuu said, a grin growing on his face. "Can we go for a flight?"

"As long as it's slow," Fu smiled, holding his shirt out.

He grimaced, pulling it on and glaring down at the blindingly white scrubs they had given him. He hated hospital clothes. He sighed, slipping his white hospital shoes on and walked to the window, sitting on the ledge and smiling, holding his hand out to Fu. Fu smiled, walking over and taking his hand, extending her wings and floating out the window, taking him with her and carefully shifting him to have his back pressed against her, her arms wrapped securely around him, green chakra glowing under her hands, Naruto sighing lightly as he felt the dull ache in his ribs disappearing.

"Let's head up to the Hokage Monument," Ryuu said, Fu nodding.

After a couple minutes of drifting through the air, Fu finally landed on top of the Hokage Monument, she and Ryuu both sitting on the edge, watching as the sun set, Fu resting her head on his shoulder. Slowly, the sun began to sink, the sky being painted a beautiful pink. After a couple minutes, Ryuu placed a temperature regulation seal on Fu's shoulder and stood, holding his hand out. She stood, taking it and he smiled.

"Let's watch from above the clouds," Ryuu suggested.

Fu smiled, nodding and picking him up, flying up to the clouds, Ryuu clearing them a path with a Gale Palm. After another moment, Fu rose above the cloud, rising a bit more before stopping. Below them, they stared at the curved surface of the Earth, and then out at the sunset. From this high up, the light of the sun spread out across the planet's atmosphere in multi-colored tendrils that wound and waved across the sky above them as the sun slowly sank. The tendrils waved and felt around the sky like a hundred octopus tentacles made of color, the tendrils going from blue to greens, to rainbow, to yellow. Then, after they had all turned yellow, the yellow began to darken into an orange, then to red. Then, it brightened into a hot pink before finally beginning to fade to black, looking like the most beautiful, yet oddest shaped, flower either had ever seen. Ryuu stared at it, Fu and Kabuto's words both playing through his mind.

He turned, looking back at Fu's face, so filled with wonder and awe as she watched the sunset. He turned his body, Fu loosening her grip to let him, her eyes not leaving the sunset. He smiled as he watched the awe in her expression. "Fu."

She blinked, looking away from the sun and at him, just in time for his lips to meet hers. She sighed, kissing him back and Ryuu felt every nerve in his body explode with a warm, tickling sensation as his stomach both flipped for joy and twisted into knots. His arms wrapped more securely around her, holding her close to himself as they kissed, neither breaking the kiss, even to breathe. Finally, Ryuu pulled away as the burning in his lungs became too much, breathing hard. However, he only stayed away long enough to give his body the air it needed before rejoining with Fu, who accepted him readily. Finally, after what felt like forever, and yet wasn't nearly long enough, the two separated, both gasping for breath and smiling.

"I..." Fu trailed off, placing her forehead against his, eyes closed and a tear sliding down her cheek.

"I know," Ryuu smiled, wiping her tear away. "I love you Fu. I'm sorry it took me as long as it did to stop being stubborn."

"It was worth it," Fu smiled. "We should get back. They're probably worried sick about you."

"You're probably right," Ryuu smiled.

Fu slowly descended back to the hospital, floating back in through Ryuu's window and landing on the floor, letting her wings fade just before Kakashi walked in with Ryuu's nurse.

"You see?" Kakashi said as Ryuu and Fu stepped away from each other, turning to them. "I told you he'd be back. They just needed some privacy for a minute."

"He's too young and injured for those kinds of things!" the nurse snapped.

"We were just watching the sunset," Ryuu said. "Jeez, you're both too perverted."

The nurse's face turned crimson and Kakashi chuckled.

"I never actually said _why_ you needed privacy," Kakashi pointed out.

The nurse blushed even more and stormed out of the room, Kakashi chuckling again.

"Next time you two leave the room, leave a not explaining that you'll be back, alright?"

"We well," Ryuu promised.

Kakashi nodded and left the room as well, Ryuu walking back to his bed and slipping his shoes off, lying down and making room for Fu, who lay down beside him a moment later, wrapping her arms around him and snuggling into his side. He smiled, kissing her lightly before rolling onto his side, curling his body around hers as his arms encircled her, Fu snuggling deeper into his embrace. Then, they both drifted off to sleep.

* * *

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	28. Chapter 28

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

New Home

Ryuu crouched, eyes roving over Fu's posture, the tautness of her muscles, the position of her hands and feet, the way her eyes scanned over his own body similarly. Then, they were both off like a shot. Training with gravity seals the last three days of his one week to train had done wonders for his speed. Unfortunately, the same was true for Fu. She was wearing a seal that tripled her weight. He was wearing one that doubled it. Both were moving roughly Ryuu's normal speed, an impressive feet on his part, even though Fu was still holding back. She had successfully beaten him with five times her normal weight already. Her body also naturally healed from the damage done to her muscles by their ridiculously vigorous training overnight thanks to Chomei, while Ryuu relied on Fu healing him before they went to bed.

Fu threw a roundhouse kick at Ryuu and he ducked under it, standing and throwing several punches, Fu deflecting them all before throwing her own. He ducked under it, standing with an uppercut, Fu leaning back out of the way before flipping backward, slamming her foot into the underside of his jaw and launching him into the air. He flipped, grinning before sending himself shooting downward with a Gale Palme, holding the other fist out.

"Hidden Waterfall Hurricane!" Ryuu shouted, streaking down at Fu.

Fu shot out of the way, barely escaping the concussion of the impact, Ryuu blasting a crater into the ground. He stood, dusting himself off and grinned as Fu watched him from the edge of the crater, also grinning.

"Impressive," Fu grinned. "In place of being able to fly for momentum, you used a Gale Palm to the same effect. Not bad. You learn fast."

"I have an excellent teacher, and an excellent training partner," Ryuu grinned.

Just then, the clone that was training with Yugao released itself, Ryuu gritting his teeth at the initial headache before grinning. His clone had finally mastered learning to sense chakra. Then, his other clone released itself, Ryuu having to place a hand to his head this time. That clone had been training in Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Fuinjutsu. He had learned a few. Nothing overly amazing, but still more than he had known before.

"You almost done over there Kabuto?" Ryuu asked, looking to Kabuto and his last clone.

"Almost," Kabuto nodded, smirking. "You're remarkably quick when it comes to learning Medical Ninjutsu."

"I'm glad," Ryuu nodded as the clone's chakra ran out and it burst into a cloud of smoke, Ryuu gritting his teeth as sweat beaded on his forehead. "Not bad. You're a pretty good teacher. Thanks for the Chakra Scalpel training too."

"I figured you'd find a good use for it," Kabuto said. "After all, it's hard to fight to the death if your limbs no longer respond."

Ryuu nodded and turned back to Fu, straightening up and stretching his back out, suddenly feeling as though he had been awake for days. "Let's take a break. I'm exhausted now."

Fu nodded, Ryuu walking to a tree and sitting down heavily, Fu sitting beside him.

"I should get back to work," Kabuto said. "See you at the exams."

"Kabuto," Ryuu said. "Have you made a decision yet?"

"You'll be the first to know," Kabuto promised before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

"What decision?" Fu asked.

"A hard one," Ryuu said. "One I'm not sure I'd be able to make."

"That's very specific," Fu snorted, rolling her eyes.

Ryuu chuckled, resting his chin on her shoulder, arms wrapping around her waist. She smiled, cuddling into him as Yugao stood off to the side in silence. Ryuu looked over just as a tear slipped out from under her mask, nearly invisible as it was almost instantly caught and absorbed by her hair.

"Master, are you alright?" Ryuu asked, slipping out from under Fu, who looked at the ANBU worriedly.

Yugao opened her mouth to speak but all that came out was a strangled sob. She fell to her knees, hugging herself as her will broke and she began to sob, mask falling off. Ryuu knelt instantly, pulling her into a hug, bewildered and confused, but knowing it had to be something horrible to break Yugao. After almost a half hour, Yugao began to sob out words, but the only thing Ryuu understood was "Hayate." It was enough, though. He understood. Hayate was dead.

"Yugao...I'm so sorry," Ryuu said, holding her tighter, letting her sob into his chest.

Yugao seemed to only sob harder as a result. Fu knelt on her other side, also hugging her, Yugao wrapping an arm around her as well. Finally, after well over an hour, Yugao managed to calm herself and stared at her mask.

"I don't know what I'm going to do," Yugao said. "Every time I see my sword, I think of him. It's hard to fight now. And I can't go home, either. Everything there..."

"You won't have to," Ryuu said, Yugao looking up at him, confused. "I've been saving my money. I finally have enough to buy a house. And I can pay in full with cash so there won't be payments."

"When did you do enough missions for that kind of money?" Yugao blinked.

Ryuu laughed, shaking his head. "The missions I did sped it up, but it was the monthly allowance Lord Hokage gave me and Sasuke to help us pay rent that I saved up. Sasuke was able to cover the rent himself with his mission pay, saving up his own allowance to buy a house of his own as well."

"I see," Yugao smiled. "The Hokage doesn't know does he?"

"Nope," Ryuu grinned. "He thinks we're barely scraping by."

Yugao smiled and nodded, pulling her mask on and standing. "Okay. I have to go and take care of some things. Why don't you two go start shopping and I'll find you later?"

"Oh I've already got everything set up," Ryuu said. "I just have to pay the owner and move my stuff. How about we meet up at me and Sasuke's apartment when you're done?"

Yugao nodded and left and Ryuu turned to Fu, smiling.

"Ready to go see our new house?" Ryuu asked.

Fu smiled and nodded, crouching into a running stance. Ryuu chuckled, sliding his right foot back, both hands on the ground. Then, they both took off, sprinting through the trees toward the village.

* * *

Ryuu sighed as he sealed the last of his belongings into one of his dozen storage scrolls, setting it with the others just as there was a knock on the door. He opened it to find Yugao waiting, now wearing civilian clothes.

"Am I late?" Yugao asked.

"Just finished sealing the last of my stuff," Ryuu said. "Now we just have to carry the scrolls to the new house. They're sorted already, one scroll to a room, plus one scroll with all of Fu's stuff. Mind giving us a hand?"

Yugao nodded, walking into the apartment, Ryuu passing her four scrolls before picking up four as well, Fu picking up the last four. They carried them out of the apartment and down the street, walking to the new house and setting them in the living room. Yugao stared around in wonder.

"How did you afford this?" Yugao asked, eyes wide as she stared at the inside of the living room, then out at the back yard.

It was huge. The backyard was about a third the size of the Third Training Ground's field, and the ouse was just as big around, plus two stories. Upstairs was the master bedroom with a queen-sized bed, a private bathroom with a bathtub three feet wide and four feet long as deep as Ryuu's armpits, a walk-in shower with a frosted glass door, a toilet, and a urinal. Down the hall from the master bedroom there was a guest bedroom that was only slightly smaller than the master bedroom and that had a private bathroom with a toilet, shower, and bathtub. Across the hall from that bedroom was a library with empty bookcases. The last door opened onto a balcony overlooking the backyard and facing West. Downstairs, there was a second master bedroom, just in case the first wasn't enough. It and its bathroom were exactly the same as the one upstairs. Across the hall from the downstairs bedroom was the living room, where the stairs and a sliding glass door to the back yard were located, and a door through the living room led to the kitchen. Inside the kitchen, there was an island counter with a pan rack hanging above it, a double sink, two ovens, one refrigerator and a full-size vertical freezer beside it, and more cabinet space than Sasuke and Ryuu's apartment had had closet space as a whole. Down the hall from the living room and the downstairs bedroom was a spar bathroom with a toilet, a tub and shower together, and a small closet. Down the hall from there was a stairway leading to the basement. Past that door was the entryway. the basement was about twenty feet high and made with stone, including the ceiling. Ryuu had already reinforced all of the walls, the ceiling, and the floor with seals to protect it from any sort of damage, since the basement was going to be the training room. It was about a sixty meters by a hundred meters. the stairs led down into it along a side wall and on the end wall furthest from the stairs, there was a large metal door with an intricate seal placed on the face and a large tumbler handle like on a bank safe.

"Who owned this house?" Yugao gaped, staring at the metal door.

"Some very paranoid shinobi," Ryuu said, resting a hand against the door, the seal shining before the handle spun with a deep groan.

He pulled it open and Yugao and Fu stared at the assortment of weapons and flak jackets inside. Some were from the Hidden Stone, some from the Hidden Sand, some from the Hidden Mist, the Hidden Rain, the Hidden Leaf, the Hidden Waterfall, the Hidden Grass. The flak jackets were from all different eras, as well. There was even a set of samurai-style armor from the Warring States Period. What caught Yugao's attention though, were the complete set of ANBU uniform, the Foundation uniform, and the Konoha Police Force uniform.

"You didn't just stumble on this place, did you?" Yugao asked.

"No," Ryuu said. "My brother bought it under an alias, then left it for me when he died. Lord Hokage recently told me about it."

"Why didn't you just tell me that?" Yugao asked.

"I wanted it to be a surprise," Ryuu said. "If I had told you it was my brother's, you'd have expected some stuff like this."

"Maybe not that thorough," Yugao said, still staring at the uniforms.

"Well, yeah, that's a bit of a surprise," Ryuu nodded. "Apparently my brother was interested in old uniforms." He shrugged, turning and walking back toward the stairs. "Come on. You need to see the back yard too."

Yugao nodded, closing the vault and watching as the handle spun back into its locked position, the seal's glow fading. Then, she and Fu followed Naruto out to the back yard. Outside, the yard was filled with lush green grass, ringed by a line of trees for privacy, and had a building nestled in the corner. When they reached the building, Yugao stared at the private hot spring. It was as big as the resort hot spring a little ways away from the village, and the building had a changing room for men and women. There was also a divider that could be lowered over the hot spring if desired.

"Your house is SO HUGE! ! !" Yugao shouted. "What the hell!?"

Ryuu laughed as Fu stared at the hot spring longingly. "Go for it."

Fu cheered, speeding into the changing room while Ryuu left the building with Yugao so she could have privacy without having to worry about the divider.

"This place...it's...amazing!" Yugao breathed.

"Thanks," Ryuu smiled. "Mind helping me unpack?"

Yugao nodded and the pair went to work, Ryuu handing her scrolls and telling her where to unseal them. Then, they would take them there, unseal them, and Ryuu and his clones would proceed to arrange everything. After a bit, they had finished, Ryuu keeping a scroll with spare furniture in the library with his jutsu scrolls, then heading down to the basement, looking around thoughtfully.

"Where does this end above ground?" Yugao asked.

"I measured it out and the safe's far wall is directly under the furthest point of the back yard," Ryuu said. "The house and yard are a perfect match to the basement and safe for length and the basement's a little thinner for width."

"That's amazing," Yugao breathed. "I'm so jealous."

"Why?" Ryuu asked. "This is your house too. Remember?"

Yugao stared at him. "You mean it? You'd let me live here?"

"Of course," Ryuu smiled. "This house is too big for me to live alone, and you need a place to stay."

Yugao hugged him and he laughed, hugging her back.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go and place protective seals on all of the walls and furniture so Fu doesn't break anything."

Yugao laughed and nodded, going with him to help.

* * *

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	29. Chapter 29

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Finals

Ryuu sighed, smirking as he counted down. Naruto was late, but he could sense him coming. Finally, he burst through the gates to the arena the Chunin Exams finals were being held in and skidded to a stop in the center where the other competitors, minus Sasuke and Dosu, were all gathered. Ryuu grinned, kneeling in front of Naruto, giving him a knowing grin.

"Konohamaru have a shortcut?" Ryuu asked.

"Yes," Naruto grumbled, Ryuu helping him stand.

"This is why you shouldn't trust small children who act like you," Ryuu said, turning back to the new proctor, Genma.

"Hey, knock it off," Genma said. "Stand up straight and present yourself proudly to the spectators."

Naruto looked up at the stands as the spectators began to cheer. More competitors meant more action, Ryuu supposed. The Hokage stood, finally, and greeted the spectators, welcoming them to the Chunin Exams final round. Then, Genma turned to them, reaching into his flak.

"Oh, there's one more thing before we get started," Genma said, pulling out a piece of paper. "Look it over, it's the new line ups for the matches."

Ryuu rolled his eyes. He and Fu would both be fighting an extra match. First, he would have to fight Shino. Then, Fu would have to fight Kankuro. After that, the normal brackets would go, starting with Naruto and Neji, then Sasuke and Gaara, then Temari and Shikamaru, then the winner of Naruto and Shino's match against Fu, unless Kankuro knew how to make his puppet move faster than his eyes could track.

"There's been a slight change in the match ups, but now it's set," Genma said. "Take one last chance to see who you'll be fighting."

"Question, I have a question!" Naruto said, raising his hand.

"What is it?" Genma asked.

"I was wondering, what'll happen to Sasuke, if he doesn't show up, I mean," Naruto said.

"If a candidate doesn't appear by the time his name is called, he forfeits the match," Genma said.

"He'll be here Naruto," Ryuu said. "He probably lost track of time while training. After all, Fu's been a dozen times faster than he and I since we met her. And he knows he'll probably have to fight her at some point."

Naruto nodded and Genma cleared his throat.

"The rules for this round are the same as before," Genma said. "That is that there are no rules. You either fight until one candidate either acknowledges defeat, or dies. That being said, if I determine that a match is over I can step in and stop it at any time. And no arguments permitted. Understood?"

Ryuu glanced at Gaara out of the corner of his eye, seeing the sadistic grin he wore.

 _If you think you can just stop Gaara with a word, you've got a very painful awakening on your way,_ Ryuu thought.

"These are the opponents for the first match," Genma said. "Ryuu Uchiha and Shino Aburame. Those two stay. The rest of you can go to the waiting area."

The others began to walk away silently, Ryuu turning to face Shino, seeing Fu glance at him, grinning, as she walked away.

"Don't hold back against me," Shino said.

"Don't knock me out too soon," Ryuu said. "Let me have at least a little pride left after this."

Shino pushed his glasses up his nose. "It's funny, I was about to say the same thing."

"Begin," Genma said before jumping back.

Shino held his arms out, a swarm of insects flying out of his sleeves. At the same time, Ryuu formed the Seal of Confrontation, crows swarming away from him, beginning to eat the insects. After several minutes of this, Shino lowered his arms, the remaining insects retreating to his coat as a cloud of black feathers drifted down between Ryuu and Shino. Ryuu held his hand out, a single Parasitic Insect landing on his palm, beginning to drain his chakra at an alarming rate.

"Well well, you upgraded," Ryuu grinned, crushing it. "Selective breeding truly is impressive."

"I prepared these insects for a battle with Fu," Shino said. "I'm not sure if it'll be enough, but it won't matter if I don't defeat you."

"You know, I'm jealous," Ryuu said, dodging to the side as insects burst out of the ground where he had been standing. "You have all of these beautiful creatures living inside of you, each capable of flying free. And yet you haven't once tried to see if you can use them to fly yourself. What a waste."

Ryuu landed, forming hand seals and slamming his hands into the ground, stone spikes shooting out of the ground in a trail aimed at Shino, who dodged out of the way, sending more insects at Ryuu. Ryuu grinned, flipping over the cloud and forming hand seals, launching a stream of flame at Shino, only for Shino to scatter into insects.

"Shit, insect clone," Ryuu growled, landing on his feet and dropping, a cloud of insects flying over him.

He jumped over a punch from Shino and landed behind him, stopping as he heard a deafening buzzing behind him. He turned, seeing the wall of insects suddenly surrounding him. He chuckled, rubbing his temples.

"You really are a clever one," Ryuu sighed. "This is exactly why I never wanted to fight you. You're too smart for it to be an easy battle."

"And you're too persistent to understand when you're beaten," Shino said.

"Oh, I'm not beaten," Ryuu smiled. "Not quite yet. I've got one last trick to deal with your insects."

He began to make hand seals as Shino's insects shot toward him. Then, he stopped, grinning as he began to expand. Shino turned, fleeing seconds before Ryuu exploded into a ball of fire, killing all of the insects as the real one appeared in front of Shino, slamming a palm into his gut and launching him backward into the crater the explosion had made. The moment Shino hit the ground, he cratered it further, lying there with ten times his body weight holding him down.

"And that's game," Ryuu grinned.

Shino struggled to stand but couldn't move an inch. "I surrender. I can't move."

Genma called the match and Ryuu released his seal, allowing Shino to stand and walking over, shaking his hand.

"You did well," Ryuu said. "For a second I thought I might have to resort to Genjutsu already."

Shino nodded. "You did well also. I didn't expect to lose half of my insects. I'm glad I kept the rest in reserve."

"Half huh?" Ryuu asked. "Not bad. Smart. You're going to need them."

"Why?" Shino asked.

"I can sense Orochimaru, but his chakra's too thick for me to pinpoint," Ryuu said.

"Understood," Shino said. "I'll start breeding my insects again. Can't focus on power this time. I'll focus on numbers. I'll be ready if anything happens."

Ryuu nodded as they reached the stands, Fu dropping into the arena, looking up at Kankuro.

"Proctor, I withdraw!" Kankuro called out, Ryuu freezing.

He withdrew? Without even trying? No. Something was off. More than him knowing he couldn't win. Almost like he was saving himself for something that didn't involve winning the Chunin Exams.

Ryuu glanced around the arena, spotting ANBU lining the stands, all of them wearing either white or black trench coats, depending on their rank. And there was Yugao. He drew his tanto, flashing a light at her with the blade, pretending to be inspecting it. He activated his Sharingan, catching the barest of nods. He put his tanto away, deactivating his Sharingan and looking to the arena as Naruto and Neji dropped into it.

The fight started off as Ryuu expected. Naruto charged in, Neji easily blocked all of Naruto's strikes, then Neji threw a strike at Naruto's chakra points. Naruto caught a lucky break here, and Neji missed the point he was aiming for. Naruto stood, grinning and creating four Shadow Clones. The clones charged, Neji once again evading everything, ending with just barely flipping out of the way of a high kick.

"Not bad," Naruto grinned, "but let's see you do that again!"

His clones charged again, Neji jumping over the first two, spinning, then slammed a kick into one of the next two's heads, and another into the other's chin, destroying one and launching the other. He landed on his feet as the first two clones stabbed at him from behind.

 _Shame he can see all the way around,_ Ryuu thought.

Sure enough, Neji deflected the stabs, destroying the clones before picking up and destroying the remaining clone as well. Naruto stared at him in shock.

"You thought you could be Hokage?" Neji sneered. "It's impossible. These eyes of mine have shown me a great many things. One thing is that a person's limitations are set, fixed, and unchangeable. One can never be something they are not destined to be."

"You are you to judge who people can or can't be?" Naruto growled, fists clenching in rage. "Who are you to say that Hinata can't be strong!?"

In the stands, Ryuu's eyes widened as he could see Naruto's muscles tensing in rage. He had never seen this side of Naruto before. Naruto was ready to snap. And he knew Naruto had been putting in a lot of training recently. He had had clones training him when he could, but Naruto had been training with one of the three Legendary Sannin, if Ryuu had been right about the old man in the hot spring's identity as Jiraiya the Toad Sage.

"Who are you to say that Hinata is weak!?" Naruto spat, feet spreading apart and he crouched, Neji's face betraying his surprise and confusion. "You can't judge anyone! You don't understand anything! People like you who are born lucky! You make me sick! So just shut up!"

He shot forward, leaping at Neji, throwing a punch. Neji moved to deflect the punch upward but Naruto caught his wrist, landing and flipping Neji over himself, slamming him head first into the ground before slamming a kick into him, sending him flying. Neji landed in a roll as several Naruto's leapt at him from all sides. In an instant, Neji was on his feet, spinning. Chakra appeared in a dome around Neji, launching Naruto away, destroying his clones. Naruto groaned as he began to stand slowly, chakra burns on his hands and the side of his face. They weren't bad, but they hurt.

"You think you can defy destiny?" Neji asked. "You surprised me with that little outburst. You made me slip up. But in the end, you are destined to lose here. I'm the better fighter. I'm stronger than you. And you are a loser. You've always been a loser. As I said before, once a loser always a loser. You can't change what you are. You're an outcast. A nobody."

"Destiny is a load of crap!" Naruto spat. "You choose who you are!"

"Is that right?" Neji asked, reaching up and pulling his forehead protector off, revealing a green Curse Mark spread across his forehead, Ryuu staring at it in surprise with his Sharingan from the stands. "This Curse Mark was placed on me by the Main House of the Hyuga Clan. It's purpose is to seal the wearer's Byakugan, either by force or when they die. It's a punishment, a way to control the Branch Families. It's the symbol of a bird locked in its cage. And do you know why I have it?"

"Why?" Naruto asked, staring at the mark.

"Because my father was born a few minutes too late," Neji said. "My father was the twin brother of the current clan head, but he was born a few minutes after Lord Hiashi." He spat the name as though it made him sick to say. "He was made a part of the Branch Family, and he was branded with the Curse Mark. Then, I was also branded with it. On the day I was branded with it, there was a celebration in the Hidden Leaf Village. A peace treaty had been signed with the Land of Lightning. The leaders of the Hidden Cloud Village were sent to sign a peace treaty. Everyone in the village was there, everyone. Every genin, chunin, and jonin showed up to welcome our former enemies. Except one clan. The Hyuga clan. On that day, the daughter of the head of the Main Branch turned three. It was Lady Hinata's third birthday. Lord Hiashi is sitting up there." Neji turned to look up into the stands, glaring angrily at who Naruto assumed was Lord Hiashi. "It was that day, the day the heir to the Main Branch turned three, that the Curse Mark was placed on me and I was made a bird in a cage. By my own uncle. When activated, the seal causes excruciating pain. Something he proved to me by using it on my father."

"You keep saying your father _was_ this and he _was_ that," Naruto noticed. "What happened to him?"

"I'm glad you asked," Neji said. "Remember the Land of Lightning representatives I told you about? They had a second mission, aside from signing the peace treaty. One night, not long after signing, the head Cloud Ninja snuck into the Main House and abducted Lady Hinata. Lord Hiashi quickly caught and killed the man. But once word spread to the Hidden Cloud that he had been killed in the Hidden Leaf Village, the Hidden Cloud wanted revenge, claiming it was murder. Things escalated until it looked as though there would be war. Finally, the Leaf Village made a deal. A life for a life. The Hidden Cloud wanted the life of the man who slew their shinobi. In order to avoid war, Lord Hiashi had to die. And so a man was killed. But not Lord Hiashi! My father was murdered in his place to protect the Main Household!" Neji clutched his forehead protector in a death grip. "Only in death was my father finally free of this wretched Curse Mark! They were so much alike, but their destinies had been determined long ago. So you see, no one can escape their destinies. It will always be my destiny to protect the Main House." He put his forehead protector back on. "And in the same way, losers will always be losers. Hinata is destined to be weak. And you are destined to lose to me."

He was off like a shot instantly, two jabs drilling into Naruto's torso.

"Eight Trigrams Sixty Four Palms!" Neji shouted. "Two palms! Four palms! Eight palms! Sixteen palms! Thirty two palms!"

As he shouted each set, a matching number of strikes drilled into Naruto, each strike harder and faster than the last. Then, a seemingly endless string of agonizing stabs of pain began to shoot through Naruto's body.

"Sixty four palms!"

He accented the last statement with a full palm strike to the gut, launching Naruto away. Naruto crashed down hard, rolling to a stop as blood leaked out of his mouth.

"Looks like that's it," Genma sighed, beginning to walk forward.

"I'll admit that you gave it a valiant try," Neji said. "But you've changed nothing. You were destined to lose. Hinata was destined to lose. And you will never change it. Despite all your big words, and all your cheering back then, Hinata was still a weak, pathetic coward, right up until I stopped her heart."

"Shut up!" Naruto snarled, pushing himself up, fury flooding from his red, slitted eyes. "Just shut up! You don't get to judge her! You don't get to judge anyone!"

He swiped his arm to accent his point just as thick red chakra began to fly off of his body, a burst of it lashing out to the side with the swipe of his arm, blasting a portion of the ground into a smoking crater. Neji staggered backward, Ryuu and Fu both gripping the railing tight as they realized what was happening, Ryuu only from Fu's description. Ryuu looked around the stadium, seeing the Jonin, ANBU, and adults all tensing and silent. They all knew, Ryuu realized. Finally Ryuu understood fully exactly why Naruto was so hated, and was alone. The parents saw him as the Tailed Beast inside of him. They saw him as the Nine-tails itself. And they told their children not to associate with him out of fear of what he might do to them.

"That's impossible!" Neji said. "You can't have more chakra! I shut off your entire chakra flow!"

"I said shut up!" Naruto shouted, streaking forward and drilling a fist into Neji's face before he could react. "You think you know so much!? Yes, I'm an outcast! I've been an outcast since I was born! I pull pranks because it's the only way to get anyone to acknowledge my existence! But if you were right, I'd still only be an outcast! But you're wrong! I have people I care about! I have friends! Iruka Sensei, Kakashi Sensei, Sasuke, Sakura, Ryuu, Hinata. They're my friends, my family! And I'm not going to sit around and let you badmouth them!"

He appeared in front of Neji, slamming a knee into his gut, lifting him, then flipping and slamming a kick into him, launching him to the side. Neji flipped, landing on his feet.

"For as much as you claim to see with those eyes, you're still blind!" Naruto snarled. "Big deal you have a tattoo on your head. Did you ever stop to think that maybe you're not the only one suffering? Didn't you ever think maybe Hinata was suffering just as much as you were? It's not her fault her father was born ahead of yours, but you resent her for it. And you tried to kill her. All she wanted was your respect, and she fought her hardest for it, even though it almost killed her! And what was that even about anyway!? I thought it was your duty to _protect_ the Main Household, not beat it to a bloody pulp!"

He shot toward Neji again, but Neji had gotten over his surprise now. he dodged Naruto's punch, blocked the kick, then slammed a kick of his own into Naruto's head, making him stumble. Naruto growled in annoyance.

"How are you using chakra!?" Neji demanded. "I blocked your chakra points!"

"Quit telling me things I already know!" Naruto shouted, sprinting forward again, throwing a punch at Neji, who sidestepped it, slamming a double palm strike into Naruto's diaphragm, throwing him backward, only for Naruto to land on his feet. "What's wrong? Afraid? I thought you loved close combat!"

He shot forward again, Neji gritting his teeth and meeting his charge. They met in a blistering series of strikes, their punches and kicks slamming into each other one after another and another, neither able to fully block or dodge the other's any longer. For a moment, both simply traded blow after blow. Then, Neji dropped under a punch, slamming a kick into Naruto's chin, throwing him away. naruto flipped, landing on his feet and shooting forward yet again.

"Enough of this!" Neji shouted, throwing a punch, chakra shooting off of his fist as he did.

Ryuu grit his teeth. That punch had the potential to kill. But it seemed like Naruto's chakra instinctively knew that, because it seemed to focus itself around his own fist. Their punches met and exploded instantly, blasting a massive crater into the ground. Neji skidded along the ground out of the smoke before flipping to his feet, looking up at Naruto, who was falling rapidly. He crashed down hard, forming his own crater, his body practically filling it. Then, he stayed there, the dust cloud he had kicked up settling.

"It's over," Neji growled. "Proctor, call the match."

"The winner is-"

Before he could finished, the ground below Neji exploded upward, Naruto shooting up from a newly formed hole and drilling a fist into the underside of Neji's jaw, launching him backward. Neji crashed to the ground hard, groaning and looking at the Naruto in the crater, which exploded into smoke.

"Of course," Neji said, smiling ruefully. "Your best jutsu."

"You're wrong," Naruto growled, blood dripping from his right hand, the fingernails shattered and ripped to pieces from tunneling without enough chakra. "It's not my best jutsu. A little while ago, I couldn't even produce one clone. Now it's almost the only jutsu I know. How's that for destiny? You arrogant prick!"

Neji began to stand but his arms and legs gave out, dropping him back to the ground, groaning. Genma walked forward, nodding to himself.

"The winner is Naruto Uzumaki!" Genma announced.

The crowd erupted into cheers instantly, all of them seemingly forgetting the chakra Naruto had used to win. Ryuu sighed, smiling.

"That kid," Ryuu sighed. "He's going to be a pain."

Fu nodded smiling, before slowly going silent as she stared across at the other waiting area.

"What?"

"He's a..." Fu fell silent, a hand clutching the beetle necklace Ryuu had given her.

Ryuu turned to look, seeing that she was staring at Gaara. "You're sure?"

"Yes," Fu nodded. "Chomei says he's number one. Shukaku."

"Okay," Ryuu said. "I'll make sure to warn Sasuke. And Fu, if you have to fight him, take the Gravity Seal off first. And be careful. Don't assume anything. And don't hold still."

"I won't," Fu nodded. "I'll fight from the air."

Ryuu nodded as Genma called Sasuke and Gaara to the arena. Gaara went there instantly, but Sasuke was still nowhere to be found. Ryuu waited silently. If Sasuke wasn't here, but Orochimaru was, that meant Orochimaru didn't have him. Ryuu silently prayed that Sasuke would be disqualified. Suddenly, a second Konoha Shinobi arrived behind Genma, whispering to him before vanishing again.

"As Sasuke Uchiha is not here, his match has been postponed," Genma announced, receiving boos. "We'll move on to the next match instead. Shikamaru, Temari, you're up!"

Shikamaru sighed, heading down to the arena. As he did, Ryuu felt a tap on his shoulder and turned, finding an ANBU standing there. The ANBU motioned for him to follow and he nodded, walking away from the waiting area, following the ANBU to a secluded area, away from everyone else. Ryuu kept a hand beside his kunai pouch and the ANBU turned to him, reaching up to his mask.

"Oh please, there's no need for that," Kabuto said as he lowered his mask. "I just wanted to tell you that I've reached a decision."

"I see," Ryuu nodded. "And what is it?"

Kabuto remained silent for a moment, staring at the ground. "I can't turn against Orochimaru."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Ryuu sighed.

Then, he drew his trench knife, streaking forward and slashing at Kabuto only for Kabuto to catch his forearm, spinning him and putting his own blade to his throat.

"Relax," Kabuto said. "I'm not saying that I'm still loyal to Orochimaru. You were right. I remember who I am. And once again, I find that I have to sacrifice myself for my home. The Hidden Leaf needs a man on the inside in Orochimaru's organization. They need someone to give them the location of hideouts. And of certain experiments that might be useful if captured. But beyond that, I also can't leave because there are several people Orochimaru has in his...care, that I have to look after. Several of Orochimaru's plans are in motion even now. I need to be there to hep stop them. If I turn on him, he'll simply kill me and the Hidden Leaf will lose their most valuable asset."

He released Ryuu and Ryuu stepped away, putting his trench knife away. "So, what, you're going to play your part?"

"Yes," Kabuto said. "I'm going to pretend to be a good little servant. While I'm still working for him, I'll be able to keep several people alive that would die otherwise. They may also be able to be saved from Orochimaru later. There's an Uzumaki survivor, a shinobi from the Hidden Mist with remarkable Water Style abilities, a boy with the ability to control Tailed Beasts, an entire village in the Land of Rice Paddies. And, of course, Sasuke himself. Orochimaru plans to possess Sasuke's body. If that can be delayed long enough, Orochimaru will be forced to possess another. That will buy an extra three years."

"Okay," Ryuu nodded. "What do you know about the Uchiha Massacre?"

"Only what we already discussed," Kabuto said.

"Alright," Ryuu nodded. "Signal me before whatever Orochimaru's planning begins."

"I will," Kabuto nodded. "It'll have a Genjutsu, white feathers falling from the sky and putting everyone to sleep. He means to execute Lord Hokage. I'm sorry. That's all I can say."

Ryuu nodded and returned to the others, leaning in to whisper to Fu, telling her what Kabuto told him about the feathers and Orochimaru's plan.

"We have to warn him," Fu said, turning only for Ryuu to catch her arm.

"If he knows we know, Kabuto's cover's blown," Ryuu whispered. "We'll react the moment it happens. Gaara's going to be a part of it. I'll help Naruto and Sasuke handle Gaara when it starts. You handle Orochimaru with Lord Hokage."

Fu nodded and Ryuu looked to the arena just as Shikamaru caught Temari with his shadow, having used the shadows in Naruto's tunnel to extend it. Then, Shikamaru raised his hand, and quit. Ryuu blinked twice before his jaw dropped. Then, he laughed.

"Oh Shikamaru," Ryuu sighed. "You'll never change."

"Sasuke Uchiha, Gaara," Genma called. "Come down."

Finally, just as Gaara reached Genma, there was a spiral of leaves as Kakashi and Sasuke finally arrived.

* * *

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	30. Chapter 30

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Assault

Ryuu watched the sandstone sphere as Gaara's voice chanted, voice carrying through the dead silent stands. At the top of the stands' wall, Sasuke was holding a Chidori, preparing to charge. Beside Ryuu, Fu was clutching the railing tightly. Ryuu had a guess why.

"Here? Now?" Fu growled.

"Even he's not that insane, right?" Ryuu asked. "He can't possibly have control over it. But even he's not that weak-willed, right?"

Sasuke shot forward, his Chidori tearing a trench into the wall, then the ground. As Sasuke shot toward the sphere, spikes grew out of the side, as it had done the last time he attacked it. This time, however, he slipped past the spikes, driving his Chidori through the sphere's wall. For a moment, all was silent.

"BLOOD! ! ! IT'S MY BLOOD! ! ! !"

Ryuu felt bad for Gaara. The monster inside of him had protected him his entire life. To see his blood, and to feel the pain of being wounded, for the first time must be terrifying. Suddenly, a shrill chirping filled the air again as sasuke struggled to rip his arm free. A scream of agony joined the chirping before Sasuke finally broke free, leaping backward, a massive arm following. It was huge. About as big around as Ryuu's torso with spikes along it, a curse mark spread over it, and an enormous clawed hand on the end.

The evil, oppressive chakra that had been plaguing the arena since the sphere appeared intensified as the arm retracted. Ryuu's Sharingan stared at the hole, catching the barest of movements. Then, the sphere began to crack before falling apart, Gaara remaining standing there, blood running quickly out of his left shoulder.

Suddenly, several things happened at once. First, Kankuro and Temari appeared around Gaara. Second, a kunai stabbed into the railing between Ryuu's hands. Third, glowing white feathers began to drift down from the sky. Lastly, the Kage's balcony exploded.

Ryuu released the Genjutsu for himself and Fu instantly as Gaara's siblings took Gaara and fled, Sasuke following. Several shinobi wearing Hidden Sound uniforms appeared, drawing kunai and leaping at Fu only for Ryuu to appear in the middle of them, placing a Gravity Seal on each. Once on the ground, he placed a Paralysis Seal on them as well for good measure.

"Get Orochimaru," Ryuu said. "Carefully."

Fu nodded, taking off only to stop when a violet flame barrier formed over the rooftop the Hokage and Kazekage had landed on. Ryuu growled in annoyance just as Sakura, Kakashi, Naruto, Shino, and Shikamaru landed around him.

"We have to help Sasuke," Naruto said.

You have no idea how right you are," Ryuu nodded. "Fu, help out around the village!"

Fu nodded, taking off, and Ryuu and the others left after Sasuke. Ryuu took the lead, sensing for Sasuke. As they ran, he sensed Temari stop, attacking Sasuke.

"We're about to catch up!" Ryuu shouted as Sasuke and Temari began to move and fight, several chakra signatures suddenly entering the rear of Ryuu's senses at the same time. "Shit! Several Hidden Sound Jonin from the rear!"

"How fast?" Shikamaru asked.

They'll catch us in thirty seconds," Ryuu said.

"How many?" Shikamaru asked.

"Seven," Ryuu said. "Can't pinpoint formation."

"Understood," Shikamaru nodded. "I'll stall them. My jutsu is designed for delaying tactics."

"Don't die Shikamaru," Ryuu said.

Shikamaru nodded, dropping back. The others continued on, stopping in a freshly destroyed clearing just as Temari was caught in the explosion of a paper bomb. Sasuke landed opposite them, grinning.

"About time," Sasuke said. "Let's go."

He turned, taking off again and the others followed, Ryuu extending his senses, finding Gaara easily by the bonfire-like chakra signature. As they began to close in, a small metal canister suddenly fell from above, exploding into a purple smoke cloud.

"Wind Style, Breakthrough!" Ryuu shouted, exhaling a stream of wind that blew the smoke away just as Kankuro's puppet shot out at them.

Sasuke leapt into the air, kicking the puppet aside. As he did, Shino landed on a branch, watching the other keep going, Kankuro stepping out of the trees, glaring at him.

* * *

Shikamaru landed on a branch, staring down at Temari. She was lying at the edge of a crater, blood staining her side. He sighed, dropping to the ground beside her, pulling out a kunai.

She stirred, groaning as she saw the knife, reaching for her own. Shikamaru took hers, throwing it to the side.

"Relax," Shikamaru said, cutting the side of her kimono open over her wound. "I'm going to save you." He quickly bandaged her side, ignoring her pained moans and groans. Finally he pulled out a plasma pill, holding it out to her. "Eat this."

She turned her head but he forced her to look back up.

"If I wanted to kill you, I would have let you bleed out. You've lost too much blood. This plasma pill will help you replace it. Now eat."

She stared at him a moment before allowing him to place it in her mouth, chewing it and swallowing before speaking. "Why help me?

"I don't like seeing women hurt," Shikamaru said.

Temari glared at him and tried to stand, only for her legs to give out and her to crash back down, head landing in his lap this time, by some miracle. Shikamaru grinned, shaking his head.

"Calm down," Shikamaru said. "It'll be a while before your body can get enough blood back to move, especially if you keep trying to move and making our side bleed."

"Shut up," Temari huffed. "I didn't ask for your help."

"You're welcome," Shikamaru smirked, wiping some blood from the side of her face.

* * *

Ryuu flipped over the wall of sand, slamming a punch into a second wall, this one defending Gaara. Just as Ryuu's fist crashed into the wall, Sasuke blasted his way through the offensive sand with a Chidori.

Gaara leapt away instantly, Sasuke stopping beside Ryuu, his Chidori fading. Ryuu sighed, glancing to Naruto, who was under orders to protect Sakura but not attack.

"This is insane," Ryuu said. "Two Genin against a Jinchuriki."

"I've only got one Chidori left in me," Sasuke said, breathing hard. "Can you hold him still?"

"I'm trying," Ryuu said. "There's only so much I can do."

Sasuke nodded and Ryuu took of, flipping over the first wave of sand. He formed several hand seals, firing several Air Bullets. Sand sprung up, blocking the jutsu at the same time as Ryuu appeared behind Gaara, stabbing with a Vacuum Blade. Sand formed into a single point, stopping the blade. Ryuu jumped, using the blade to jump high into the air, firing even more Air Bullets. Again, sand blocked it, but this time Sasuke appeared, Chidori extended.

Gaara's eyes snapped to Sasuke just as something thick, tan, and with a Curse Mark extended from behind Gaara, crashing into Sasuke from below, launching him away. He crashed down hard, groaning as Ryuu landed beside him, staring at the tail made of sand growing out of his gourd.

"Dammit," Ryuu growled. "We almost had him. Are you okay?"

Sasuke nodded beginning to stand only to shout in pain as the Curse Mark began to spread over his bod. It stopped after half his body, but it left him unable to move. Ryuu growled in annoyance, looking back to Gaara, seeing the sadistic grin as sand solidified on his right arm, spreading until it had formed the same arm that had extended from the sphere.

"Great," Ryuu growled. "Can I fight Orochimaru again instead."

"Uchiha!" Gaara shouted, saliva running down his face as sand began to collect on the side of his head.

The sand condensed into half a monstrous face. It had the Curse Mark on it, like the arm and tail, it had Gaara's scar of the kanji for "Love" on its forehead, and an eye with a black sclaera, a sand-colored iris, and a four-pointed-star-shaped pupil with four small black dots in between the arms. His teeth on that side grew pointed and drool ran out of his mouth.

"Uchiha!" Gaara shouted again.

Ryuu readied himself, forming a Chidori as his Sharingan activated. Gaara grabbed the branch at his feet, leaning back as the arm stretched. Then, he shot forward, streaking through the air at Ryuu. Ryuu grabbed Sasuke and leapt at Gaara.

"What are you doing!?" Sakura shouted.

Ryuu held the Chidori out, driving his arm shoulder-deep into Gaara's mutated arm before the arm crashed into him, slamming him into a tree. Sasuke flew past Gaara, Naruto catching him and jumping to Sakura. Gaara grinned wickedly, and Ryuu grinned as well.

"Now you die!" Gaara snarled.

"Sorry, not yet," Ryuu smiled.

He began to expand before exploding into a ball of fire, launching Gaara backward into a tree, his tail having shielded his normal half. He growled in rage, sand spreading over the rest of his body, leaving only the top of his head and his feet from halfway down the calf exposed.

"Die!" Gaara shouted, swinging his arms upward, a wall of sand shuriken flying at him.

Ryuu smirked as he was hit, dissolving into crows. Gaara turned instantly, one arm blocking several kunai before his arm shot out at Sakura in response. Sakura screamed as she was slammed into a tree, Ryuu removing the hand instantly. The arm retracted, regrowing the hand while the hand against the tree began to harden, Sakura now unconscious and slowly being crushed.

Ryuu swore. "Naruto, that hand is going to keep hardening until we take him down. I'll need your help."

"What can I do?" Naruto asked.

"You're the east predictable, and most energetic, ninja in the village," Ryuu said. "I'll get an opening for you. You use your shadow clones."

Naruto nodded, crouching, readying himself. Ryuu took off, shooting straight at Gaara, flipping over Gaara's hand as it swiped at him before slamming a kick into his face. Gaara began to tip backward, and Ryuu's eyes narrowed as a grin grew over Gaara's face. Then, several mouths opened over Gaara's body.

Ryuu leapt away from Gaara, expecting a wall of sand, but instead, the mouths all fired a Great Breakthrough combined with sand, the jutsu blasting Ryuu into a tree. He groaned as he landed on a branch. Just as he did, Naruto appeared behind Gaara.

"Straight from the teaching of Kakashi Sensei!" Naruto shouted, drawing a kunai. "Thousand Years of Death!"

Ryuu felt his mouth pull into a tight line as Naruto drove the kunai into Gaara's rear, below the tail. For a moment, everyone stared at him incredulously. Then, Gaara slammed his tail into Naruto, launching him.

"Naru-"

"Boom," Naruto said in mid air, the kunai exploding as he did.

Ryuu's eyes widened as the smoke cleared, revealing Gaara's body to be damaged and only slowly regenerating.

 _The base of the tail_ , Ryuu thought.

Just as he began to move, Gaara appeared in front of him, smashing him down through the branch, into the ground. Ryuu groaned as Naruto crashed down beside him

"Alright, fine" Naruto growled. "I'll use my new Jutsu."

Ryuu looked over at Naruto just as Naruto but his thumb, forming hand seals.

"Naruto a Summoning Jutsu won't-"

"Summoning Jutsu!" Naruto shouted, slamming his hand down.

A moment later, it was resting on the back of a slightly larger-than-normal toad with orange and blue skin.

"Hi there," the toad greeted. "Ya know, I've never been summoned before, but I promise, I won't let you down."

"Oh come on!" Naruto groaned. "I was trying to summon the Chief Toad!"

"My pop?" the toad asked. "That makes sense. I'm Gamakichi, Gamabunta's son."

"Look out!" Ryuu shouted, diving aside.

Naruto looked up, seeing a cloud of Sand Shuriken flying at them. He grabbed Gamakichi, leaping away, several Sand Shuriken stabbing into his back.

"Naruto!" Ryuu shouted.

"I'm okay!" Naruto said as the sand fell away.

Ryuu nodded, releasing his Gravity Seal and rocketing toward Gaara. Gaara swiped at him but Ryuu used a Gale Palm to get out of the way, passing Gaara and rolling, forming hand seals instantly.

"Fire Style, Dragon Flame Bomb!" Ryuu shouted, flames blasting Gaara below the tail, where the body had just finished regenerating.

Gaara flew through the air at Naruto. Then, an army of Narutos met him, pummeling him constantly, until finally blasting him into the ground. Gaara stood from his crater, sand falling away rapidly.

"I will not disappear from this world!" Gaara suddenly raged.

Ryuu grabbed Sasuke, vanishing as sand exploded skyward around Gaara, obliterating Naruto's clones. Ryuu landed lightly, setting Sasuke down before jumping to the top of a tree. He tossed a scroll into the air, the scroll unfurling to reveal a pre-staged summoning circle.

"Summoning Jutsu!" Ryuu shouted, smoke exploding out of the scroll before Ryuu caught it.

"What do you require?" the giant crow he had summoned once before asked.

"I'm sorry," Ryuu said, storing his scroll and jumping onto the crow. "I had hoped it wouldn't come to this. We have to fight the One-tailed Beast."

The crow turned its head, staring up at the gigantic sand raccoon towering over them. "Understood."

The two of them shot into the air, Shukaku watching them rise. Ryuu took a breath before firing a massive barrage of Air Bullets at Shukaku's eyes. The jutsu exploded against his eyes harmlessly before the crow took off, Ryuu clinging to it with chakra. As they flew,the crow began to roll, feathers shooting off its wings and driving themselves into Shukaku.

"Well that did nothing," Ryuu sighed.

"Just wait," the crow said.

Suddenly, all of the feathers began to explode in a trail around Shukaku. Shukaku roared in pain, but when the smoke cleared, the sand was already mostly restored.

"Damn," Ryuu sighed. "Fu's going to hate me, but I'll have to risk running out of chakra to hurt him."

Just then, sand began to shift on Shukaku's forehead, Gaara rising out of it. Ryuu grinned. He wasn't fully transformed yet. If he could land a hit, he might be able to stop him.

"Fling me!" Ryuu said, getting on the Crow's wing.

The crow flipped, launching Ryuu at Gaara, then exploding into smoke just ahead of Gaara's hand. Ryuu pulled his hand back only for Gaara's hand to crash into him, launching him. Ryuu's vision swam, body screaming in agony. Any second he'd hit the ground and die. Sure enough, he felt himself hit a moment later, except something was off. The ground was red and stretched, caving in around him. Then, it ejected him, and he was falling again. A moment later, a second impact jarred him, but this time with a body, the body catching him. After several seconds, the familiar warm feeling of Medical Ninjutsu spread through his body, his vision slowly sharpening. He stared up at Kabuto, then past him at the giant red toad wearing a blue hapi vest and with a pipe in its mouth.

"Kabuto?" Ryuu croaked, surprised by how weak he sounded.

"Lay still," Kabuto said. "Your ribs are shattered, again, as is your left femur, your right humorous, and several vertebrae. I'm doing what I can now."

"Thanks," Ryuu smiled. "How's the battle?"

"The Hidden Leaf took numerous casualties, but they've regrouped and are pushing the hidden Sand and Sound out."

Ryuu nodded and sighed. "And Orochimaru?"

"He's still fighting Lord Hokage," Kabuto said. "It doesn't look good for Lord Hokage." Kabuto remained silent for a moment before sighing. "I have other orders. I'm supposed to capture you."

"I figured," Ryuu nodded. "I suppose my only hope is Fu, then."

Kabuto nodded, smiling. "She's almost here. She started over the moment Shukaku appeared."

Ryuu nodded, sighing. After several more minutes, Fu landed beside Ryuu, beginning to help Kabuto heal Ryuu.

"You're a fool Ryuu," Fu said, voice carefully controlled. "Why would you fight a Tailed Beast?"

"I just had to stall," Ryuu smiled, looking up as Gamabunta exploded into smoke.

Out of the smoke, the nine-tailed Fox leapt, roaring as it charged Shukaku, avoiding several humungous blasts of wind before leaping onto Shukaku, sinking its teeth and claws in deep. Then, in another cloud of smoke, it was Gamabunta again, Naruto leaping off of his head, landing on Shukaku's head and charging Gaara. For a moment, sand caught him, before orange chakra began to shoot off of him. Then, he surged forward, his forehead crashing into Gaara's.

Cracks spread over Shukaku's body instantly before it fell apart, Gaara and Naruto falling. Fu turned back to Ryuu as Kabuto stood. Fu looked up at him in confusion.

"It's fortunate for you that Fu was here to drive me off," Kabuto smiled. "I'll see you again. And Ryuu, thank you again."

With that, he vanished. Fu gently lifted Ryuu and headed back toward the village.

* * *

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	31. Chapter 31

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Bedridden Again

Ryuu stared out the window. Rain pelted the glass, obscuring his view of everything. But he could sense the shinobi. More than a dozen dead. Including Lord Hokage. And here he was, stuck in a bed. And a full body cast. Fu had promised to give Lord Hokage a flower and say goodbye for him.

"How are you doing Ryuu?" Ryuu's new nurse, Kaori, asked.

"I should be there," Ryuu said. "I knew Orochimaru was there, and I didn't warn Lord Hokage. It's my fault he's dead."

"That's not true," Kaori snapped. "You fought a Tailed Beast. You're lucky to be alive. You have no guilt in Lord hokage's sacrifice."

"It wasn't a sacrifice," Ryuu said. "He lost."

"he sealed a part of Orochimaru's soul," Kaori said. "The seal killed him."

'But I might have been able to save him," Ryuu said.

"No," a voice said from the door, Yugao walking in with her mask on.

"Master," Ryuu greeted. "Why aren't you at the funeral?"

"It just ended," Yugao said. "Fu's waiting outside. Ryuu, you couldn't have saved Lord Hokage. Orochimaru reanimated both Lord First and Lord Second Hokages to fight. You would only have been in the way. But if you hadn't fought the Jinchuriki, we might all be dead now."

"Naruto could have handled him alone," Ryuu said, then sighed.

"Can you give us a moment Kaori?"

Kaori nodded, walking out of the room. Ryuu nodded to Yugao and she opened the door, Fu walking in instantly and slapping Ryuu before kissing him.

"You idiot bastard," Fu growled. "Don't you ever get tired of being in the hospital? Or of scaring me?"

'Trust me," Ryuu smiled. "The hospital is the last place I want to be. How are the others?"

"Everyone's okay," Fu said before grinning. "I think Shikamaru claimed the title of biggest idiot."

"Is that right?" Ryuu asked.

"Oh yeah," Fu grinned. "He saved Temari. Bandaged her wounds and took the time to hold her head in his lap, then let her go."

"Damn," Ryuu grinned. "And here I thought me and Naruto were the foolishly merciful ones."

"How long do you think it'll be until they're dating?" Fu asked.

"I'd give it a year, assuming we don't go to war," Ryuu said.

"We won't," Yugao said, removing her mask. "Without a Hokage, the Village Elders have to get the Shinobi Council to agree in order to go to war. The Shinobi Council so far has refused to to to war, with Shikaku Nara being the loudest voice."

"Shikamaru's father?" Ryuu asked.

"Yes. He's every bit as smart as his son," Yugao grinned. "Maybe smarter given Shikamaru's decision with the Hidden Sand girl."

Ryuu nodded, laying his head down. "I need to get better at Medical Ninjutsu. After that, I want to learn stronger Genjutsu."

Yugao nodded. "You've had to fight like you meant to kill an awful lot recently. Are you okay?"

"I'm alright for now," Ryuu said. "The nightmares that have come are getting better."

"Good," Yugao smiled. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Did he ever get used to it?" Ryuu asked.

"No," Yugao sighed. "Never. I don't want to imagine what he must have gone through after killing his family."

"Probably Hell itself," Ryuu guessed. "What if I could save him? What if I could bring him home?"

Yugao's eyes widened, tears forming in them before she shook her head. "You can't. Itachi is a traitor. Even if he did return, he'd be killed on sight."

"Not if he was restrained," Ryuu said.

"I'm not talking about the average shinobi, or even the average ANBU," Yugao said. "Danzo Shimura would have him killed instantly."

"That sounds more than a little suspicious given the intel Itachi could have," Ryuu said.

"It is," Yugao agreed. "But Danzo has a reputation for hating traitors enough to defy the Hokage in order to kill them."

Ryuu's eyes slowly narrowed. Yugao seemed to sense his train of thought.

"No," Yugao said. "Danzo is not a traitor."

Ryuu sighed, nodding. Fu slipped her hand into his, squeezing lightly. Yugao sighed, pulling her mask back on.

"I should go," Yugao said. "I've got a mission."

"Please be careful," Ryuu said.

"I will," Yugao nodded. "I'll see you at home."

Ryuu nodded and Yugao left, Ryuu sighing. He did not want to live at the hospital again. Fu slipped her hand into his, smiling as Kaori knocked.

"Come in," Ryuu said.

"Just need to switch out your morphine bag," Kaori smiled.

Ryuu nodded. "Once my cast is off, if you find Fu and I are gone, don't panic. We're just getting fresh air. We'll be back."

Kaori nodded before finishing and leaving. Ryuu set his head down and began to drift off.

* * *

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	32. Chapter 32

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Escorts

Kaori walked into the room and stopped, staring at the empty bed. She sighed, sitting in the chair beside the bed, watching the sky slowly darkening. Finally, Ryuu and Fu descended back through the window, Ryuu gingerly climbing back into bed as Kaori stood.

"You really are a trouble child," Kaori said, checking his bones. "You know you can see the sunset from down here, right?"

Ryuu chuckled, activating his Sharingan. "Kaori."

She looked up at him as his Sharingan spun, her mind being filled with images of the sunset as Ryuu and Fu had seen it, tendril of color waving across the sky. After a moment, he released his Genjutsu, and Kaori sat there, dazed, for a moment before blinking and smiling.

"Nevermind, I understand completely now," Kaori smiled. "Anyway, you should be okay to leave in about three more days."

Ryuu nodded as Sasuke walked in, several bandages over his body. "What happened?"

"Itachi tried to capture Naruto," Sasuke said. "I managed to stall him long enough for Jiraiya to find us, but he did a number on me."

"Partners?" Ryuu asked.

"A tall man with blue hair and skin, gills, and a sword wrapped in bandages," Sasuke said.

"Kisame Hoshigaki," Yugao said, walking into the room, dressed in civilian clothes. "Former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist Village."

"Welcome home," Ryuu smiled. "What do you know about him."

"He defected," Yugao said. "He's in every Bingo Book there is, and with a run on sight order. He's known as the Tailless Tailed Beast because of his seemingly endless chakra."

"I see," Ryuu nodded. "He'll be trouble when the time comes."

"You have a plan?" Sasuke asked.

"Somewhat," Ryuu nodded. "You won't like it."

"Let me guess," Sasuke said. "I go on vacation."

"No," Ryuu said. "Fu trains us directly."

"Nope, don't like it," sasuke said. "Anyway, I'm heading home."

"See you in a couple of days," Ryuu said, Sasuke leaving as Fu took her normal seat. "So, when are you finally heading home?"

"I was thinking once you get out of the hospital," Fu said. "And I was hoping you could go with me."

Ryuu turned to Yugao who sighed, smiling.

"I'll see what I can do," Yugao promised.

Ryuu smiled as she left and Fu took his hand, Ryuu smiling as closing both of his around hers. After a moment, she climbed into the bed beside him, their hands clasped between them.

* * *

Ryuu stretched as he waited. Finally, Yugao, Fu, and Sasuke walked over, stopping at the gate.

"You've been cleared to go on a mission to escort Fu home," Yugao said. "If Shibuki agrees to Fu's request to be transferred, you'll be escorting her home again. While unnecessary, Sasuke will be coming with you as backup."

"Understood," Ryuu nodded. "We'll be back as soon as we can. Hopefully with Fu."

Yugao nodded. Ryuu turned, walking out of the village, the others following. As they walked, Fu slipped her hand into Ryuu's. Ryuu smiled at her and they walked in silence. As the sun set, Ryuu unsealed three tents and bedrolls. He set his up quickly before creating three clones, the four of them scattering into the trees to take watch.

Sasuke finished his tent as Fu stopped beside him. He sighed, nodding.

"He's worried," Sasuke said. "He's always had a nasty habit of closing himself off when he's worried or in pain. In this case, he's afraid that Shibuki will refuse. Rightfully so. As a Jinchuriki, you're incredibly valuable to your village. More than you know. I'll be more surprised if he agrees than if he refuses."

"Maybe," Fu said. "Should I talk to him?"

"Yes," Sasuke nodded. "Any walls he's put up to protect himself from the pain of him having to leave you behind, tear them down. Force him to feel everything. Force him to be human."

Fu nodded and jumped up to Ryuu, sitting down and pulling his arm around her shoulders. Ryuu smiled, resting his cheek on her head. She cuddled into his side, wrapping her arms around him.

"Everything's going to be fine," Fu promised. "Even if he says no, I can come visit anytime. it's not like this is goodbye."

"I know," Ryuu said.

Fu sat up, turning his head to look at her. Ryuu smiled but it fell just short of his eyes. She rested her head on his chest. He gently ran his hand over her hair. She sighed, listening to his heart beat.

"We should be there tomorrow," Ryuu said.

"And two days later, we'll be home," Fu smiled.

Ryuu smiled as well and nodded, then stood, holding Fu bridal style. "First we have to deal with them."

He dropped off the branch just before it exploded. He set Fu on her feet as three shinobi landed in front of them, Ryuu's clones held by the face and instantly crushed. Sasuke landed beside them, all of them watching the newcomers in silence. All three were pale, their eyes glowing red and with long white hair flowing down their backs and with blank forehead protectors. One was holding a katana with a blue grip and a demon-themed tsuba, one held a khakkhara made of a blood red metal, and the last held a kusarigama, the chain looped in his left hand, the sickle in his right. It had a forest green shaft and a blood red blade.

"Who are you?" Ryuu asked, Sharingan activating.

The one with the sword lunged, slashing at him. He drew his tanto, blocking the blade and shoving it away. The shinobi leapt backward again and Ryuu raised an eyebrow, Fu and Sasuke landing off to either side where they had scattered when the attack was launched.

"Fine then," Ryuu sighed. "Sasuke, Fu, be careful."

Both nodded. Then, all six scattered. Ryuu and his opponent both charged straight, their blades clashing before Ryuu leapt into the air, the kusari crashing into the ground below him. Ryuu landed on a branch and instantly leapt to the side, his opponent crashing down where he had been. He raised his tanto, crouching and readying himself as his opponent turned.

"You're fast," his opponent said. "My given name is Mhao."

"I'd wager that you know my name," Ryuu said. "Who are you?" Besides your name?"

"My father wants you alive," Mhao said. "But I want you dead."

He shot forward and slashed at Ryuu, and Ryuu deflected it, ducking under another slash and slashing back. His tanto sparked against Mhao's own blade and Mhao grinned, gripping his black cloak.

"I'm betting on armor," Ryuu said, seconds before the cloak fluttered away.

Instead of armor, he wore a simple martial arts gi and pants, his sandals made of metal. Ryuu wouldn't have been surprised if they had concealed blades in them. They also probably weighed a lot.

"Weighted shoes, good strategy," Ryuu grinned. "But I'm not going to let you beat me by dropping weight."

Just as Mhao kicked his shoes off, Ryuu loosened his Gravity Seals, shooting forward and crashing into Mhao, their blades clashing and forcing Mhao backward, slamming Mhao's back against the tree. Mhao shoved Ryuu's tanto upward and slashed back down, blu flames rolling along his blade, only for Ryuu to grin. As the blade met his flesh, Ryuu suddenly expanded and exploded into a fireball, blasting the tree into splinters. Mhao crashed down on the ground, the side of his face burned and his sword broken, but alive. Ryuu landed in front of him and hummed thoughtfully.

"You're tough," Ryuu said. "Barely any damage from that. But still, now that your sword's broken, this fight's over. Any last words?"

"You may kill me today, but the next time we meet, I _will_ capture you for my father."

Ryuu's eyes narrowed in confusion for a second before he shot forward, tanto slicing Mhao's head off cleanly before he slowed to a stop, refusing to look back as he formed hand seals, a glowing red seal appearing on Mhao's body and head both before flames burst to life on them, burning them to ash in a few moments. Just as it finished, Fu and Sasuke both landed beside them, Fu with the khakkhara in her hand and Sasuke with a gash on his shoulder freshly bandaged.

"What was that about?" Sasuke asked.

"They were sent by someone to capture me," Ryuu said. "Mine said something about meeting again later on even if I killed him. I'm not sure what he meant, but he's gone now, so it doesn't matter."

"True enough," Sasuke nodded. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," Ryuu said. "Eventually, anyway. Come on. Let's hurry up and get to Takigakure before anyone else attacks us."

Fu and Sasuke nodded, Fu wrapping her arms around Ryuu before taking his hand as they began to travel again.

* * *

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	33. Chapter 33

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Home Again

Ryuu walked to the waterfall and stopped beside Fu. She slipped her hand into his, squeezing it lightly and smiling at him.

"It's going to be okay," Fu smiled. "We'll be heading home before you know it."

Ryuu forced a smile as well and nodded. Together, they walked into the waterfall, Sasuke a step behind them. They walked to the village inside the secluded glade, finding Shibuki easily, since he was waiting for them. He greeted them with a smile and Ryuu and Fu both smiled as well, but Sasuke remained stoic, his eyes holding a hint of sympathy for Ryuu, Sasuke suspecting what Ryuu expected.

"Welcome back," Shibuki smiled. "I wasn't expecting you to escort Fu home."

"We had a bad feeling about the trip," Ryuu said. "plus there's something I'd like to talk to you about."

Shibuki raised an eyebrow and nodded. He led Ryuu away from the village, to the opposite side of the lake where they wouldn't be overheard by anyone. Then, he turned to Ryuu, smile gone and expression knowing.

"Do you love her?" Shibuki asked.

"What?" Ryuu blinked.

"Fu," Shibuki said. "Do you love her?"

Ryuu began to speak, only to stop. He thought about it carefully. He was young, even by a ninja's life expectancy. He had a lot of things that he had yet to experience. At his age, could he really even be expected to know what love was?

He began to think back to his time with Fu. The conversations, the naps, the nights, the sunsets. He looked across the lake. The people there were barely bigger than ants from this distance, but still, his eyes picked out her green hair, her orange eyes. He somehow knew that she was staring back into his own eyes. He turned back to Shibuki, answer clear in his mind.

"Yes," Ryuu nodded. "I do."

"Then you have your answer," Shibuki smiled, pulling a scroll out of his robe. "Give this to your Hokage. If you do, Fu will be officially transferred to the Hidden Leaf Village at the rank of genin."

"Thank you!" Ryuu almost cried, grabbing the scroll and throwing his arms around Shibuki before pulling back. "But...why?"

"Because Fu's like family to me," Shibuki smiled. "All of my villagers are. I want to see Fu happy, and around you she's practically glowing. You make her happier than I've ever seen her. So I have no right to separate you."

Ryuu smiled and nodded and they both turned, walking back toward Fu. "So, the Hokage is currently...away from the village. Who else could I give the scroll to?"

"Well," Shibuki said thoughtfully "The Jonin council and the Village Elders could vote to accept a shinobi transfer. You could try that. Or you could wait for the Hokage."

"I think I've waited long enough," Ryuu smiled.

Shibuki laughed and nodded and they travelled the rest of the way in silence, as they arrived, Fu looked at Ryuu questioningly and Ryuu grinned and nodded. Fu cheered , picking up Shibuki in a spinning hug before releasing him in favor of Ryuu, who wrapped his own arms around her, tucking his face into her shoulder.

"I told you that you were worried over nothing," Fu smiled.

Ryuu squeezed her lightly, mumbling something unintelligible into her shoulder. After a moment, Shibuki cleared his throat.

"As I am turning her over to your protection, there are a few things you need to be made aware of," Shibuki said, Ryuu turning to him, hearing the seriousness in Shibuki's voice. "Firstly, the Akatsuki. It's a group of mercenaries that the Hidden Leaf warned may be interested in capturing the Tailed Beasts. I don't know the validity of that information, but currently all Jinchuriki are accounted for, so at the very least, the Akatsuki hasn't made a move yet."

"Okay," Ryuu nodded., the information settling in his gut like a stone.

"Next is a promise," Shibuki said, smiling. "We may not be the most powerful village, but if you ever need help, do not hesitate to ask."

Ryuu returned the smile and nodded. Then, they, along with Sasuke, left the village, walking a short distance before Fu spread her wings, picking up the two Uchiha by the arm and flying back toward Konoha so as to avoid any other possible attacks.

* * *

Ryuu smiled as he watched Fu eat, Leaf Village headband proudly displayed on her shoulder, where her Waterfall headband had been before it. She glanced up at him and smiled, Ryuu's smile growing into a grin as he saw the food stuck between her teeth. He shook his head, chuckling and she blinked in confusion.

"What?" Fu asked.

"You have ramen between your teeth," Ryuu smiled.

Fu blushed, taking a drink of water and swishing it, clearing her teeth. Then, she returned to eating. Ryuu had to laugh at her appetite. Jinchuriki or not, it was funny to see so many bowls in front of a girl as young as her.

A few minutes later, they left Ichiraku's, heading up to the top of the Hokage monument, sitting on the edge and laying back, watching the clouds roll by overhead. Ryuu smiled as his hand slipped into Fu's. She smiled, rolling over on top of him and leaning down, capturing his lips with her own. He smiled into the kiss, hands resting on the small of her back.

"I thought I might find you here," Sasuke's voice spoke up from behind them. "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt."

"You really do have awful timing," Ryuu grumbled, looking up at him.

"It's time to train," Sasuke said.

"Already?" Ryuu groaned. "Dammit. I was enjoying doing nothing."

"So I saw," Sasuke said. "But I have to be stronger in order to kill Itachi. And your girlfriend is the strongest person our age that I know. So I need her help."

"I told you you're not killing Itachi before I talk to him," Ryuu said. But fine. We'll train for a bit."

Sasuke nodded and the three of them walked into the woods, finding a clearing and stopping. Fu stood opposite them and drew a pair of kunai, both Uchiha activating their Sharingan. Then, all three were off.

Ryuu reached for first, her kunai sparking against his tanto and trench knife before she spun past him, kicking him away. He flipped, landing on his feet and turning around just as Sasuke ducked under a knife, slashing at Fu. Fu stepped back, out of the way of the slash, and Sasuke spun around to slash from the other way, only to receive a foot between the shoulder blades. Ryuu charged at Fu again and she stepped around his blades before catching his arm and flipping him to the ground, pinning him with a foot, knee threatening to break his elbow.

Before anyone could try anything, however, Sasuke appeared beside Fu with a Chidori. She dove to the side and he followed, pulling the Chidori back. Then, Ryuu appeared beside him, catching him by the crook of the elbow and smashing him into the ground, the Chidori fading.

"No killing my girlfriend," Ryuu said.

"I wouldn't have," Sasuke said. "She's still holding back. But fine. No Chidori."

"Thank you," Ryuu said, releasing him.

Instantly, Sasuke flipped, kicking Ryuu in the gut before hurling him away. Then, he turned to Fu, receiving a foot to the face, hurling him away as well. As he landed, Ryuu sped past him, flipping over Fu's first strike and sending a kick of his own at her from above. She blocked it and Ryuu flipped to the ground, dropping and sweeping at her legs. She leapt over it and crossed her arms in front of herself, Sasuke's foot crashing into them and throwing her.

"I vote we work together," Sasuke said as he landed beside Ryuu. "This whole three-way-battle thing is going to get real annoying real fast."

"And trying to fight Fu together isn't?" Ryuu smirked.

"Touché," Sasuke nodded. "Shall we?"

"Let's," Ryuu said, both charging again.

* * *

"You guys' teamwork is really good," Fu smiled, sitting on Ryuu's back as he and Sasuke struggled to find the will to get up again after thirty minutes of humiliating defeat. "You've both gotten really strong."

"Says the girl who just out fought us both," Ryuu groaned. "Comfy?"

"Fairly," Fu smiled.

"That's good," Ryuu grunted, trying and failing to stand. "Wouldn't want you to be inconvenienced."

Fu giggled and stood, helping him up. Then, Ryuu helped Sasuke up, sighing as he felt Sasuke's wrist pop out of socket and back in from a hasty wrist lock earlier. Sasuke yelped in pain and Fu healed him.

"I regret trying to fight her now," Sasuke said, cradling his newly healed wrist.

"So do I," Ryuu chuckled. "Now, if you'll excuse us, I think it's time for dinner."

Sasuke nodded and Ryuu turned, wrapping his arms around Fu and allowing her to fly them into the village. They landed at Yakiniku Q's and sat down. After eating about triple a normal couple's amount, they left, watching the sunset before heading home. Once there, Ryuu had Fu train him in Taijutsu for a while before calling it a day. They both took turns showering before Ryuu headed into his bedroom, pulling a pair of pajama pants and a shirt on over his boxers. He climbed into bed, lying on his back and closing his eyes.

Then, he waited patiently for sleep to find him. And then he waited some more. After roughly an hour of lying still without falling asleep, Ryuu sighed, sitting up. He looked over at Yomo's cage to see the bird watching him.

"Do you know why I can't sleep Yomo?" Ryuu asked.

Yomo flapped his wings once and cawed.

"I didn't think so," Ryuu sighed.

He looked toward the door and sighed, climbing out of bed and walking down the hallway to the balcony. He leaned on the railing, staring up at the moon. It was full tonight, and a bit bigger than he had seen it in a while. He wasn't entirely sure why he was staring at it, but for some reason, he had rouble looking away.

Finally, he tore his eyes away from the giant orb in the sky and looked down at the yard, seeing Fu seated in lotus position in the back yard, staring up at the moon. He walked outside, stopping beside her and watching her for a moment. Finally he sat beside her. She glanced at him, smiling, and in the darkness, he almost missed the fact that her yes were completely black. She looked back up at the moon, a low hum vibrating from inside of her.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"Fine," she said, though not in her own voice.

This voice, while just as bright and cheerful as Fu's, was decidedly male.

Ryuu scrambled to his feet, taking a step back and readying himself for anything. "Who are you?"

Fu looked at him in surprise for a moment before smiling happily, eyes squinting shut. "I'm Lucky Number Seven, Chomei."

"Where's Fu?" Ryuu growled.

"She's fine," Chomei assured him. "She's in here, sleeping."

"Why are you in control?" Ryuu asked suspiciously.

"I like to look at the moon," Chomei smiled, looking back up at the orb. "Our father created the moon using our power. I feel closer to him when I look at it."

"And you being in control isn't hurting Fu at all?" Ryuu asked.

"Not at all," Chomei smiled, shaking his head. "When we were first joined, it hurt us both, but we eventually learned to work together, and now it's completely safe."

Ryuu nodded and stared up at the moon in silence for a few minutes. Finally his eyes fell back to Chomei. Chomei lowered his gaze to Ryuu again, cocking his head to the side thoughtfully, regarding Ryuu in silence.

"What?" Ryuu asked.

"You really don't mind that I'm sealed inside of her?" Chomei asked.

"Not at all," Ryuu said, shaking his head. "Because of you, she's far stronger than anyone our age, so I don't have to worry about her being hurt as much. She can fly, so I'm jealous. And I know that, no matter what, she'll never be alone because she has you. So, really, I'm glad she has you. You'll be able to protect her even when I can't."

Chomei smiled and nodded before standing, closing his eyes. After a moment, Fu opened her eyes again, her orange irises seeming to glow slightly in the darkness. Ryuu stood, smiling, and Fu slipped her hand into his.

"I take it you just met Chomei," Fu smiled.

"Yeah," Ryuu nodded. "For a demon beetle, he doesn't really seem all that demonic."

"Chomei is the friendliest of them all," Fu said.

"I figured," Ryuu chuckled. "Come on. I'm tired and it's time for bed."

Fu smiled and nodded, following him back inside. He walked her back to her room, kissing her goodnight before heading to his own room. He lay down and pulled the covers up, but again sleep eluded him. He lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, finding it hard to even make his eyes close. He had no idea what was wrong, but it was annoying the hell out of him already. He rolled onto his side, and again found it hard to make his eyes close, let alone stay that way. Then, he felt Fu's weight settle on the side of his bed. He rolled back, looking up at her only to blush and look away. She was, once again, naked.

After a moment, he lifted the blankets for her and she slid under them, wrapping her arms around him and laying her head on his shoulder, Ryuu's own arms wrapping around her as as she smiled, cuddling into him, their legs tangling together instinctively. Ryuu closed his eyes, feeling his body relaxing slowly with the comfort of her presence, yet still sleep couldn't find him.

"Looks like I'm not the only one that finds it hard to sleep under the full moon, huh?" Fu smiled, not opening her eyes or lifting her head.

"I usually don't," Ryuu said. "I'm not sure why I can't sleep now."

Fu smiled, squeezing him a little tighter for a moment before reaching up and kissing him. He kissed her back, Fu shifting slightly to lay on top of him, deepening the kiss, which slowly grew more passionate the longer they continued. As they continued to kiss, Ryuu felt time starting to slip away, breaking contact with Fu's lips only when he desperately needed to in order to breathe. Fu returned the kiss with equal passion. Ryuu pulled away finally, however, breathing hard and sitting up.

"What's wrong?" Fu asked.

"Thanks to you being a freaking space heater, I'm too hot now," Ryuu said, pulling his shirt off, blushing slightly.

Fu giggled, nodding and lifting herself up, allowing him to slip his pajama bottoms off too, tossing both pieces of clothing on the floor and lying back down, Fu laying on top of him again, hands stacked on his chest with her chin resting on them, smiling up at him. He sighed, trying to keep himself from blushing as he felt her soft skin against his own.

"You need sleep," Fu said, still smiling at him.

"So do you," Ryuu said, not even remotely feeling tired. "Since neither of us can do that, do you have any other bright ideas?"

Fu smiled, giving him a quick peck on the lips before settling back in. "I suppose if you really want to, we could train some more, see if it tires you out any."

"Tempting," Ryuu nodded.

"Or, we can stay here and kiss, and hope we fall asleep," Fu smiled.

"Even more tempting," Ryuu mused. "Well, I'm feeling pretty lazy. Training would mean I have to get up. So...I suppose we can just hope we fall asleep."

Fu laughed, shaking her head before shifting up, kissing him again, the kiss starting out slow before quickly returning to where it was before they stopped. Ryuu again felt time losing its meaning as they kissed. Then, he heard the door open and they broke apart, both turning to look, finding Yugao standing in the doorway, staring at them in shock.

"Oh, hello Master," Ryuu said.

"What...what exactly...do you think you're doing?" Yugao asked, face darkening.

"What?" Ryuu asked. "Are we not allowed to kiss or something?"

"She's NAKED!" Yugao shouted. "You're _both_ naked! What are you thinking! You're too young for that kind of thing!"

"That kind..." Ryuu's eyes widened as he realized what she meant. "Oh God! No! We weren't doing _that_! We were just sleeping in the same bed, except Fu is only comfortable sleeping naked! And because of what she is she's like a million degrees, so I had to take my pajamas off to keep from dying. I'm still wearing underwear, though."

"We really weren't going to do what you thought we were," Fu said. "I promise. We were only kissing."

"Jesus," Yugao groaned, resting her head in her hand. "Fu, go put some clothes on. Ryuu, put yours _back_ on."

Fu sighed, climbing out of bed as Ryuu looked away. Once she was out of the room, Ryuu climbed out of bed, pulling his pajamas back on and sitting back down.

"Ryuu, I really hoped I wouldn't have to have this talk with you-"

"My parents already gave me that talk," Ryuu said. "Like we said, we weren't doing _that_."

Yugao watched him for a moment before sighing. "Sixteen."

"What?" Ryuu asked.

"Sixteen is the legal age," Yugao said. "If you get caught doing that before you're sixteen, you'll be punished."

Ryuu blushed dark red. "We weren't doing that!"

"I'm just warning you," Yugao said. "I'm going to go to bed. No more sharing a bed with Fu."

"It helps with the nightmares," Ryuu said quietly, Yugao stopping.

She looked back at him in silence for a moment before sighing and nodding. "Fine, but you'll both be wearing clothes. Understand? If it's too hot, lay on top of the blankets."

Ryuu nodded and Yugao left, heading to Fu's room. Ryuu lay back down under the blankets and almost a full hour later, Fu walked in, face scarlet. Ryuu could guess what she and Yugao had been talking about, and he didn't really want to know for sure. He raised the blankets and Fu climbed in next to him, wrapping her arms around him again and resting her head on his shoulder. Ryuu wrapped his arms around her, reaching down and kissing her before setting his head back. He rolled toward her and Fu curled into him, both closing their eyes. The, finally, they began to drift off to sleep.

* * *

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	34. Chapter 34

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Found

Kakashi stared out at the trees in silence. Naruto should only be a couple of weeks away from being back with the next Hokage. Once that happened, Kakashi could go on missions again. He needed the distraction. He was starting to sink into his old habits of thinking about the people he had lost all day. He knew it wasn't healthy, and yet he did it anyway. He sighed, the images of his long dead friends and loved ones passing through his head again. Obito. Rin. His father. Minato. Itachi. Recently, however, the most prevalent one had been Anko. she had occupied his mind more than he would like. He missed her terribly. And even after all the time she had been missing, it still tore him up to not be able to go looking for her. Hell, after as long as it had been, there was practically no chance that she was still alive anyway. Especially with Orochimaru.

An even more disturbing thought occurred to him, then. He wasn't sure if he really wanted Anko to still be alive. If she was, that would mean that she had been being experimented on, tortured, and put through hell for over a month and he had done nothing to try and save her. If she _was_ still alive, she would understandably be beyond traumatized. She probably wouldn't be the same person ever again.

Kakashi sighed miserably, rubbing the inside corner of his visible eye before looking around. He had been sitting on the wall around the village for a while now, but he hadn't really been seeing anything. Now that he was paying attention, he still saw nothing but trees. He scanned them more carefully, since his job for the next three hours _was_ to watch for enemy shinobi. Suddenly, he caught a flash of movement and stopped, watching that spot, seeing something else move again. He signaled the nearby ANBU who were helping the jonin before dropping to the ground. Just as he did, someone stumbled out of the trees, barely conscious and barely on their feet. Kakashi's eye widened as he stared at Anko. Her hair was a mess, she was bruised, swollen, and bloodied, there were scars running up and down her arms and her exposed torso, and each time she lifted a foot, blood remained where it had been.

She collapsed not five steps out of the trees, but Kakashi caught her instantly, lowering her to the ground and shouting for a medic. He gave her wounds a cursory inspection. Burns, stabs, surgical cuts, jagged gashes, fang marks, scars that looked like small pieces of her flesh had been ripped out by claws or a barbed whip, gashes on her feet running from heel to toes to make walking agony, and obvious signs of repeated rape. All of this was exposed for anyone to see due to the fact that Anko was also completely naked. An ANBU landed beside Kakashi, draping a cloak over her instantly as Guy landed beside them a moment later.

"Kakashi, get her to the hospital," Guy said. "I'll take over early."

Kakashi nodded and vanished, reaching the hospital as fast as he could and running into the ER, several doctors and nurses immediately taking her to be treated. Kakashi was told to stay in the waiting room and did as instructed. Then, after nearly an hour and a half, the doctor walked out, motioning for him to follow. He did so without hesitation, following the doctor to a room where Anko was lying in bed with a heart monitor and IV hooked up, wearing a hospital gown now.

"She's stable now," the doctor assured him. "When you brought her in, she was dying of starvation, blood loss, and dehydration, as well as a number of viruses and infections. There were a number of toxins in her blood, most of them snake venom but not all. We gave her a blood transfusion and have her on an IV for water and nutrients, as well as antibiotics for the viruses and infections. The toxins we were able to neutralize, all except for one that seems to be designed to enhance nerve sensitivity. It's wearing off, however, and should be gone by the time she wakes up. We were able to seal up her physical wounds and treated her burns. She'll pull through physically, though we can't speak for her mental state."

Kakashi nodded, sitting beside her and taking her hand in his. He had failed her. More than a month of torture and rape. And he had done nothing to save her.

"We expect her to wake up sometime tomorrow," The doctor said.

"Doctor," Kakashi said. "She was raped. Were you able to tell by who? And also...is she...pregnant?"

"The DNA wasn't a match to anyone we have on record," the doctor said. "And as far as we could tell, no. She's not pregnant. However, it looked like she could have been raped as recently as yesterday, so it's still possible that she could be. It's just too early to tell."

Kakashi nodded and the doctor left. Kakashi began to cry almost immediately, holding her hand against his forehead. "I'm so sorry Anko. I should have found you. I should have gone after you immediately. I'm so sorry."

He continued to cry for almost an hour, and didn't leave the chair once.

* * *

Kakashi clutched Anko's hand between his as Anko's eyes slowly creaked open. She looked around for a moment before they settled on him. She stared at him in silence before tears began to flood down her face and she began to choke back sobs.

"Am I really back?" Anko asked.

"You're hear," Kakashi nodded, voice cracking as his own eye began to leak. "You're safe now."

Anko began to sob and Kakashi comforted her as best he could.

"I'm so sorry Anko," Kakashi said as she finally began to calm. "I'm so sorry I never saved you. I should have come looking for you the moment I found out you were taken, orders-be-damned."

"No," Anko said. "You couldn't have found me. Orochimaru moved me every week. You'd have never been able to track me down. Besides, you did the right thing by following orders."

"Those who-"

"I know," Anko smiled, reaching up and wiping a tear from his cheek. "I've heard you the last thousand times you've said it. But I'm here now. I'm safe."

"I thought I was supposed to be comforting you," Kakashi said, earning a small laugh from Anko.

"What happened while I was away?" Anko asked.

Kakashi shook his head. "Later. For now, you just rest. And if you need anything, I'll be here for you."

Anko smiled and nodded, her eyes fighting to shut again.

"Rest," Kakashi smiled. "I'll be here when you wake up."

Anko nodded and closed her eyes, passing out instantly.

* * *

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	35. Chapter 35

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Relaxation

Ryuu grit his teeth, struggling for a moment to hold the Water Blade in place before it collapsed. He sighed, flexing his hand several times before trying again, Fu watching him patiently. Ryuu has able to hold the jutsu in place for longer this time, but again it collapsed after a few seconds. Fu smiled, walking over to the stream and effortlessly forming a blade, swinging it a few times.

"Showoff," Ryuu grumbled. "I'll get the hang of it."

"If all else fails, you can always use your Sharingan," Fu said.

"True," Ryuu nodded. "But I don't want to rely on my Sharingan. I want to be able to fight without it."

"Fair enough," Fu nodded. "Well, if you want, we can take a break from this one and try something else."

"No," Ryuu said, shaking his head. "I'm going to learn this jutsu."

Fu laughed, nodding as Ryuu formed a handful of clones, each of them trying. Fu watched for almost an hour, helping him when he needed it. Finally, Ryuu was able to form a Water Blade successfully and hold it as long as he wanted. Once he had mastered that jutsu, Fu moved on to teach him a jutsu that allowed him to pass into the ground or trees and such and move around both for stealth or to avoid attacks.

Ryuu picked that jutsu up quickly, and decided to take a break, heading for the hot spring, Fu following him. Almost as soon as he stepped inside, he tossed his shirt onto a table, then walked into the changing room and changed into a pair of swimming trunks. He left the changing room, walking into the hot spring and leaning back against the side, sighing. After a moment, the other changing room door opened, and Ryuu glanced toward it. Fu was walking out of the changing room wearing a white bikini consisting of a thin bottom with a pair of ties on the sides, and a top consisting of a very thin strip of cloth wrapping around her back, the two sides crossing over her chest to cover her nipples, and then around her neck. There was a bow at the back of her neck to hold the bikini top on.

"You look beautiful," Ryuu said as Fu climbed into the hot spring.

She smiled, walking over and wrapping her arms around his neck, kissing him. He smiled, leaning into the kiss, his arms wrapping around her back. They stayed that way for a long while before breaking apart, Fu leaning back and backstroking away from him. Once she was a ways away, she ran a hand over the surface, Ryuu sensing the chakra she spread into it.

"Really?" Ryuu asked. "You want to do this here?"

She grinned before swinging her hand toward him, a jet of water shooting directly at his head. He leaned to the side, flicking his hand, a jet of his own shooting out and narrowly missing Fu. He plunged his hand into the water, yanking it back up and bringing a Water Whip with it, lashing out with the whip and catching Fu by the neck. She responded instantly by forming a Water Blade and cutting the whip, only for a jet of water to spray up from directly below her, drenching her and making her lose focus, the Water Blade falling away. She began to pout as Ryuu walked over to her, smirking. When he reached her, he wrapped his arms around her again, pulling her against himself and kissing her.

"I'm sorry," Ryuu smiled.

Fu smiled as well, kissing him back. Then, she twisted, hurling him. Ryuu shouted in surprise seconds before splashing down. After a moment, he resurfaced, back first, remaining motionless. Fu rolled her eyes, forming a Water Whip and flicking it out, catching his upper arm and rolling him over. Once on his back, Ryuu spat out some water like a fountain.

"It's not nice to throw someone when they apologize," Ryuu said.

"Never let your guard down," Fu smiled.

"You shouldn't either," Ryuu said, yanking his hand, a Water Whip following it.

Then, the other end of the whip coiled around Fu's foot, yanking it out from under her, dunking her in the water again. She resurfaced, coughing and sputtering before glaring at him. He grinned and she crossed her arms.

"Want to spar?" Fu asked.

"Hell no," Ryuu said, using chakra to keep himself floating as he folded his hands behind his head. "I want to float right here and enjoy the weightless feeling."

"We could go fly around," Fu offered.

"True," Ryuu nodded. "But if we went and flew around, I would have to get dressed, which involves moving. I want to just relax for a change."

"But you _love_ flying," Fu said. "It's all you've ever wanted."

"True," Ryuu nodded. "But there are other things I want. A day of relaxation, to cuddle with you. Family."

He stared up at the ceiling as his family flashed through his mind, a tear sliding out of his eye as he did. He snapped back to reality as Fu reached him, climbing on top of him and lying down, Ryuu adjusting his chakra control to keep from sinking. Fu wrapped her arms around him, kissing him before setting her head on his chest. Ryuu's left hand began to gently comb through her hair, Fu smiling and tightening her hold slightly. After a few minutes, her grip loosened, her arms sinking into the water as she drifted off to sleep. Ryuu smiled, continuing to float for a bit before letting his legs fall, taking Fu into his arms and carrying her out of the hot spring to the house, drying her with chakra before tucking her into his bed, drying himself and lying beside her. She instinctively curled into his side again and he wrapped his arms around her, quickly drifting off as well.

* * *

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	36. Chapter 36

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Run In

Ryuu walked down the street in silence, Yomo sitting silently on his shoulder, looking around. Ryuu stopped as he reached a weapon store and walked inside. He didn't need any weapons, nor did he want any. His tanto and trench knife were all he needed. He did, however, feel like it would be good to have a backup in case he lost them during a mission. At least until he could recover them.

He walked through the store in silence, scanning around. He found a double-edged tanto with a round tsuba that he liked, and a single kunai that was silver, rather than the standard black. He bought both, paying for them and then beginning home. About a quarter of the way there, however, he noticed a pair of ANBU following him, both with black cloaks and similar Oni-styled masks. He calmly made his way through the village until he saw a third ahead of him. He turned down a side street, getting the distinct feeling that he was being shepherded somewhere. He continued walking until he found yet another ANBU blocking his path. He turned left, heading down a deserted side street, making it halfway before a line of four ANBU appeared in the street ahead of him, two appearing on his left and the four from before stopping behind him. He looked around, his Sharingan activating as they all stood silently.

"Ryuu Uchiha," a voice on his right said, Ryuu turning and drawing his new tanto, readying himself for an attack.

Standing in the doorway was a man wearing a white robe under a lighter black one, and his right arm inside of the black robe like it was useless. His left hand was resting on top of a gnarled walking stick and there were bandages around his head and over his right eye, messy black hair sticking up from the bandages. Ryuu's Sharingan was able to see chakra flowing through his right eye constantly and his right arm to several points, but the chakra wasn't doing anything, just focusing at those spots then leaving again. Still, though, Ryuu could sense that this man was very powerful.

"Who are you?" Ryuu growled.

"My name is Danzo Shimura," Danzo said. "I supplied you with your teammates during the Chunin Exams."

"I see," Ryuu nodded. "Thank you for that. Now what do you want?"

"To talk to you," Danzo said.

"Then talk," Ryuu said.

"This is hardly the ideal place to have a discussion," Danzo said. "Come inside and let me make you some tea."

He gestured at the building he had left, and Ryuu glanced up at it before back at Danzo.

"I'll pass," Ryuu said. "If you want to talk, do it. Otherwise, I'm going to go home, and you'll have to kidnap me to stop me from doing so."

Danzo regarded him in silence for a long moment. "As you wish. I am the leader of a faction within ANBU known as the Foundation."

"I know who you are," Ryuu snarled. "What do you want with me?"

"I would like to recruit you," Danzo said.

"I refuse," Ryuu said.

"I think you should reconsider," Danzo said. "You're incredibly powerful, just like your brother. He once worked for me, you know."

"I know," Ryuu growled. "I still refuse. I know how strong my brother was, telling me he was strong won't make me any more inclined to join you."

"You could be a hero," Danzo said. "Unsung, of course, but a hero none the less. The work you would do would keep the village, and everyone in it, safe from harm."

"I'm not a murderer," Ryuu said. "I actively try not to kill, and when I do it's because it was unavoidable. I have no interest in working for you, I have no interest in speaking with you, and if I ever find out that you approached any of my friends, for any reason, I'll take it as you trying to harm them. In that case, I'll crush you. Stay away from me, stay away from my friends, and stay away from Fu. She's not your concern, she's not your problem, and she's none of your business. Do I make myself clear?"

"Completely," Danzo nodded. "Take him."

All of the ANBU darted toward him at once, only for Ryuu to vanish, reappearing two streets over, in the middle of a crowd and making his way rapidly toward his house. He sensed the ANBU dispersing into the crowd and grit his teeth, trying to move faster. After about two minutes, a man stepped out of the crowd off to his right, a kunai dropping out of his sleeve. Ryuu caught the man's arm, taking the kunai and hurling it into the man's foot, the man shouting in pain and dropping, Ryuu acting surprised and scared like the rest of the crowd, who all backed away. Ryuu backed up further, disappearing into the crowd just as two of the ANBU arrived in their cloaks and masks again. Ryuu made it to a back alley and took off at a sprint. Three ANBU followed, but just as they rounded a corner after Ryuu, they stopped, staring at the empty alleyway.

Ryuu rose from the ground in a deserted part of town, sprinting toward his house just in time for three of the ANBU to appear in front of him, two with katanas and one with a pair of kunai. However, just as they landed, Yomo cawed at them from above. The ANBU ignored him but Ryuu sighed in relief. Then, Fu crashed into the ground behind the ANBU, stabbing two in the back of the head and snapping the third's neck.

"Are you alright?" Fu asked, hurrying over to him.

"I'm okay," Ryuu nodded. "There're more, though. There were ten initially."

Fu nodded and they began to run away from the corpses, only for the other seven to appear in front of him, one of them barely using his right foot. Ryuu and Fu stopped, readying themselves as the ANBU spread out slowly.

"You must be Fu," the only one wearing a white cloak said. "Danzo Shimura is very interested in you. You'll be coming with us."

"I don't think so," Fu said calmly. "I prefer to not be locked in a cell."

"Don't worry," the ANBU said. "Lord Danzo isn't going to lock you in a cell. Animals and monsters get locked in cages."

"Watch your mouth," Ryuu snarled, gripping his new tanto tightly. "You can say whatever you want about me, but I'm not going to sit around silently while you badmouth Fu."

"We're wasting time," another ANBU said.

"And just what is going on here?" a voice above them called out, everyone looking up to see Kakashi, Guy, Yugao in her ANBU uniform, and Asuma Sarutobi all standing on a building on Ryuu's left with Sasuke, a crow Ryuu had sent after him on Sasuke's shoulder.

"It looks like someone's been causing trouble," Guy said.

"It looks like seven someones are trying to kidnap a couple of children," Yugao said.

"What do we do?" one of the ANBU asked.

"Withdraw," the leader said. "We'll deal with them later."

All of the ANBU vanished, Ryuu sighed in relief. Kakashi and the others landing around them.

"Are you alright?" Yugao asked.

"We're fine," Ryuu nodded. "Thanks to Fu."

"And all of you," Fu added.

"Why were they after you?" Kakashi asked. "They were Foundation, right?"

"They said that Danzo wanted to lock Fu in a cage," Ryuu said. "So they definitely know what Fu is. As for me, they may have wanted me as a way to draw Fu out, but they still went after me so Danzo might have wanted something else. He asked me to join before he sent the ANBU after me."

"I think I know what he wants," Kakashi said. "Your Sharingan. As Shisui's brother, there's a chance you inherited his Mangekyo powers, if you were able to awaken them. For your sake, pray you don't."

Ryuu nodded. "So what do we do?"

"For now, the two of you will be guarded," Kakashi said. "You'll be with at least one jonin at all times. At least for now. The next Hokage will be able to put Danzo in his place, but for the time being, you'll be under our supervision."

Ryuu nodded and Yugao volunteered to take the first shift of babysitting. The others nodded and left. Ryuu sighed and leaned back against the wall, sliding to the ground and holding his head in his hands.

"Are you really okay?" Yugao asked.

"Why?" Ryuu asked. "Why is Danzo willing to publicly attack and kidnap me and Fu?"

"Danzo's always been extreme," Yugao said. "I got Kakashi blackout drunk once and Kakashi told me that he once tried to have Kakashi's Sharingan stolen. But once the Hokage was told, Danzo backed off so as to protect himself. Danzo's...well...He's a snake. Eventually, he's going to be killed for his sins, and no one will mourn him. But until that day, he's going to be a pest."

Ryuu nodded, sighing. He held the kunai and tanto he had bought out to Fu, who blinked in surprise before accepting them. "You should be better equipped, if we're going to be dealing with Danzo's ANBU."

Fu nodded, smiling. "Thank you." She kissed him, and he kissed her back before pushing himself up and turning to Yugao.

"Alright," Ryuu said. "Let's get training."

* * *

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	37. Chapter 37

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Failed Attempt

Ryuu shoved Fu's tanto away, spinning and slashing from behind her, only for Fu to spin, blocking the blade and slashing at him with her kunai. Both of them had improved tremendously in the last couple of weeks that they trained. Fu could still easily outpace him if she wanted to, but he _had_ improved his speed considerably.

Their guardians had kept them under close supervision, trading off every day. When with Yugao, the two of them would train with each other, or with Yugao from time to time. When with Kakashi, they would train with Sasuke and sometimes Sakura. When Guy was in charge of them, Neji and Tenten would train with them. On a couple of occasions, Kurenai had also been present, teaching Ryuu some more about Genjutsu.

"Alright, that's enough for today," Yugao called out, Ryuu and Fu's blades clashing one more time before they both put them away, walking over.

"We're stopping early?" Ryuu asked.

"I have a mission, so for now, we're going to go and find one of the others to watch you," Yugao said. "Probably Kakashi."

Ryuu and Fu nodded and they left, making their way through the village to look for Kakashi, all three sensing around for his chakra signature. After about ten minutes, they found Sasuke instead. Sasuke was walking down the road toward his home but stopped when he spotted them, walking over to them instead.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Sasuke asked.

"Have you seen Kakashi?" Yugao asked. "I need him to take over early."

"I haven't," Sasuke said. "Me and Sakura got today off. Maybe he's at a meeting."

"We could try Kurenai," Ryuu suggested. "She and her team should be training over near the Forest of Death, I think."

"Sure," Yugao nodded.

"Mind if I tag along?" Sasuke asked. "I have nothing better to do and it's been a few days since we got to train together."

"Sure," Ryuu nodded.

The four of them headed off down the street, walking in silence and keeping an eye out for any sign of Danzo's ANBU. After almost no sign of them the entire time they had been under guard, Ryuu almost felt like they were overdue for an attack.

"Relax," Fu said, slipping her hand into his. "We're still with Yugao. No one's going to try anything."

Ryuu nodded just as they turned a corner into a less populated street to see a single ANBU in an off-white cloak at the far end. They turned instantly, continuing to walk down the road they were on, Ryuu pushing his senses out again, spotting five around them, all closing in. He cursed under his breath.

"Looks like Danzo's gotten impatient," Yugao said. "Keep walking. They can't attack us in public."

"They have before," Ryuu pointed out.

No sooner had the words left his lips did an ANBU suddenly rise out of the ground, leaping at Yugao and slashing, Yugao's sword appearing in her hands instantly from a seal, blocking the blade. Both ANBU crashed into the wall of a warehouse, smashing into it as the three Genin took off at a sprint, sensing the other ANBU all speeding in to claim their prizes. They made it out of the populated part of the village, reaching a park before an ANBU shot at them from the side. Ryuu leapt into the air, kicking him in the face and launching him away, flipping to the ground and drawing his tanto and trench knife, Fu and Sasuke landing behind him, forming a triangle, both drawing their weapons as well, Fu with her tanto and kunai and Sasuke with a pair of kunai.

"How many?" Ryuu asked.

"A dozen," Fu said as ANBU began to grow out of the ground around them, several dozen. "Plus clones."

"Sasuke," Ryuu said.

"Right," Sasuke nodded, both forming hand seals as Fu dropped.

"Fire Style, Giant Fireball Jutsu!" Ryuu and Sasuke both shouted before spinning and exhaling a stream of flame in a circle around them.

The flames exploded as they reached the first line of clones and blasted several into oblivion, but most survived, streaking toward them from the smoke. As they reached the three genin, the three genin blocked their first strikes and shredded the first five. All five exploded into smoke and Ryuu sent out a fireball, blasting another handful. As soon as he finished, he spun, tanto blocking a sword that had been moving to stab Fu. Fu slashed the sword's owner, a dozen clones all exploding into smoke as the shinobi dropped. Ryuu spun again, exhaling a Vacuum Blade onto his tanto as he turned, deflecting a sword with it and splitting the ANBU up the front, the clone exploding into smoke. He stepped forward, blocking a slash from a kunai and shoving it aside, ducking under a handful of shuriken that stabbed into the clone's chest. The clone exploded and Ryuu spun, blocking a katana, feet skidding backward along the ground as he struggled to hold the strike back. He stopped skidding finally after he was more than a dozen yards from the others. Then, just as he shoved the sword away, five more stabbed into his back.

"Ryuu!" Fu screamed.

Then, Ryuu erupted into a ball of fire, more than a dozen other clones around them exploding into smoke as well. Ryuu rose from the ground behind an ANBU that had been watching the progression of the fight and reached around him, slitting his throat with a kunai. blood splattered over his face as the ANBU twisted and fell, Ryuu shoving the body away, turning to the other ANBU around, forming hand seals.

"Wind Style, Drilling Air Bullets!" Ryuu shouted, inhaling.

The ANBU turned toward him as he slamming his fist into his gut repeatedly, several massive blasts of air blasting into their ranks, killing several clones. A pair of ANBU sped toward Ryuu as he turned to them, a sword blade made of flames erupting to life on one of their hands. Ryuu copied the Flame Sword and ducked under the other ANBU's, stabbing him, the Flame Sword extending to the other ANBU, impaling him as well, both igniting like match heads only to burst into a cloud of smoke a moment later.

"Kill him!" one of the ANBU shouted, lightning streaming along his sword as he charged, several others following suit, either wind or lightning streaming along whichever weapon they were using.

Ryuu allowed his Flame Sword to go out, drawing his tanto and forming a Vacuum Blade on it, deflecting the first slash and sidestepping the second. He split the second ANBU's side open, blood spraying onto him. The third exploded into the smoke and Ryuu stabbed the fourth, catching his arm and taking his katana, turning and hurling it into the first's back. Then, the fourth exploded into smoke, along with the first. Ryuu leapt back from a pair of ANBU slashing at him, then darted forward, decapitating both and receiving a blood shower. He landed behind the pair, ducking as a katana passed over his head, only for Fu to appear over him, kicking the ANBU's head around backward, the ANBU exploding into smoke Ryuu stood just as Sasuke appeared beside him as well, now holding a katana. The last dozen or so ANBU all stopped in their tracks, staring at the three genin.

"Are you okay?" Fu asked.

"I'm fine," Ryuu said, clenching his teeth and struggling not to look down at the corpses strewn around him. "There should be three left."

Fu nodded, but before they could attack, a cloud of insects burst out of the ground below the ANBU, swarming them all before all but three exploded into smoke. Then, Hinata dropped behind the three, disabling them with Gentle Fist. All three dropped tot he ground, the insects retreating to Shino as he and the rest of his team arrived at the same time as Kurenai and Yugao landed behind Ryuu and the others.

"Is everyone okay?" Yugao asked.

"Yeah," Ryuu said. "You?"

"Thanks to Kurenai," Yugao nodded. "Seven attacked me after we were separated."

"I know," Ryuu said. "I sensed them show up while we were being chased. Can we go and kill Danzo now?"

"You want to kill him?" Yugao asked, watching him carefully.

"I want him to leave Fu alone," Ryuu said.

"Then you just need to hang on for another day," Yugao said. "Jiraiya's sent word. He and Naruto are on their way home. And they're bringing the next Hokage."

Ryuu nodded and put his tanto and trench knife away, finally allowing his eyes to fall to the bodies around him, tears rolling down his cheeks almost instantly. He stared down at his body and his hands, blood coating him from the ANBU he had killed. He let his hands fall to his sides again and Fu set a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Fu asked.

"No," Ryuu said. "I'm going to go home and take a shower. Then I'm going to go to bed."

He turned to leave and Yugao looked to Kurenai.

"Can you look after him?" Yugao asked. "I have a mission."

Kurenai nodded and motioned for the others to follow, all of them catching up to Ryuu as Yugao left.

* * *

Ryuu grit his teeth, gripping his arms tighter, squeezing his legs to his chest, pressing his face into his knees. All around him, the faces of those he had killed circled him, screams, pleas for mercy, and the sound of his blade cutting them apart echoed. He could feel it. Every time he heard his blade ending a life, he could feel the impact in his hand.

"You're a murderer," a voice suddenly said. "You deserve to die."

"I guess life isn't as precious to you as you thought," another said.

"What a hypocrite," a third said.

"Murderer."

"Killer."

"Monster."

"Murderer!"

"Killer!"

"Monster!"

"MURDERER!"

"KILLER!"

"MONSTER!"

"RYUU! ! !"

Ryuu sat bolt upright, gasping for breath and staring at the wall ahead of him. His vision was blurred and his throat was sore. He looked to the side, finding Fu sitting beside him on her knees, her eyes red and puffy and her face a mask of worry. He tried to speak but only a sob escaped. She wrapped her arms around him and he began to sob anew. Fu held him tightly as he sobbed, stroking his back lightly and assuring him everything was okay. After almost an hour, Fu managed to get Ryuu back under the covers, lying beside him and continuing to comfort him. Finally, Ryuu drifted off, only for more nightmares to plague his sleep.

* * *

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	38. Chapter 38

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Away

Ryuu sat down heavily, staring at the floor for several moments before lifting his eyes to the blonde sitting behind the Hokage's desk. Tsunade. She was supposed to be in her eighties, but looked to be in her late twenties at best. She was wearing a green haori with a grey gi under it, the gi open enough to expose her ridiculously large chest a good deal. Under the desk, Ryuu could see her black sandals and the grey bottoms of mid-shin length pants pants.

"Lady Tsunade, this is Ryuu Uchiha," Yugao said from behind Ryuu and Fu, who was seated beside him. "And this is Fu."

"It's a pleasure to meet both of you," Tsunade smiled before looking to Yugao again. "I assume there's a reason why the first thing I have to do as Hokage is meet them off the record."

"You remember Danzo Shimura, right?" Yugao asked.

"Of course," Tsunade nodded. "Don't tell me that snake is still causing trouble."

"He's tried on two separate occasions to kidnap both of them," Yugao said. "Both times it ended with a public fight between Foundation ANBU under Danzo's control and these two along with Sasuke Uchiha, myself, Kakashi Hatake, Might Guy, and Kurenai Yuhi."

"He what!?" Tsunade demanded. "What the hell for!?"

"With Ryuu, it's because of his Sharingan," Yugao said.

"Has Danzo tried to kidnap Sasuke?" Tsunade asked.

"No," Yugao said. "It's Ryuu's specifically that Danzo wants. Ryuu is Shisui Uchiha's younger brother."

Tsunade's eyes widened and she nodded, remaining silent for a moment. "And Fu?"

"Fu is a transfer from the Hidden Waterfall Village," Yugao said.

"I fail to see the importance of...wait, isn't the Hidden Waterfall where the..." Tsunade trailed off, staring at Fu.

"That's right," Yugao nodded. "Fu is the Jinchuriki of the Seven-tailed Beast."

Tsunade nodded slowly, before sitting back and sighing heavily. "Day one and I already have to deal with Danzo. Alright. I'll make him leave them alone. In the mean time, it's probably best to get you two out of the village for a while. I'm going to send you two on a mission with Naruto's team. Here, these are the details of the mission." She held a scroll out to Ryuu and he took it, his hand falling limply back to his lap with it, Tsunade watching him, concerned. "Are you alright?"

"Nightmares," Ryuu said. "I haven't slept well the last couple of nights."

Tsunade nodded and Ryuu and Fu stood, bowing, before leaving the office, finding Kakashi training his team in the Third Training Ground. As they landed, Kakashi turned to them, smiling.

"Hello Ryuu, Fu, how can we help you?" Kakashi asked.

"We're attached to a mission with your team," Ryuu said, walking over to them and handing Kakashi the scroll.

"I see," Kakashi nodded, reading it quickly. "Well, it would seem that we're heading for Crescent Island."

"When?" Ryuu asked.

"Tomorrow morning," Kakashi said.

"Then I'm going to sleep for the rest o the day, I hope," Ryuu said. "You can all fill me in on the way."

"Shouldn't you stay and hear the details now?" Sasuke asked.

"No," Ryuu said. "I should get some sleep so that I'm not too exhausted to travel tomorrow. We have a long trip ahead of us. You can just fill me in in the morning."

"Alright," Kakashi nodded. "I hope you get a good rest this time."

"So do I," Ryuu said.

He turned, walking away and Fu followed, slipping her hand into his, Ryuu smiling at her before they both left with the Body Flicker Technique. As soon as they were in his house, they headed for his room, both stripping to their underwear and climbing into his bed, pulling the sheets and blanket up over them and passing out into a blessedly dream-free sleep.

* * *

Ryuu watched the heatwaves in the distance, sweat running down the sides of his face. Beside him, Fu was hovering along seemingly effortlessly using her wings, not a drop of sweat on her. To his other side, Sasuke was in about the same state he was. Both of them were wearing their normal outfit of high-collared tee-shirt and shorts, Ryuu sincerely regretting only owning black now, and both were bearing with the heat better than the others. Sakura was doing fairly well in her new summer outfit, consisting of a red short-sleeved belly shirt, a very short red apron skirt with tight black shorts under it. Naruto, on the other hand, looked like he was practically dying. His was a bright orange vest over a sea blue short-sleeved tee-shirt, bright orange shorts, and open sandals. The only one fairing almost as well as Fu was Kakashi, who was wearing his usual uniform, except with short sleeves.

"It's so hot!" Naruto groaned for the millionth time.

"Oh shut up Naruto!" Sakura snapped. "We've got our new summer uniforms so what more do you want?"

"The temperature in the sixties would be nice," Ryuu interrupted as Sakura opened her mouth to continue. "Or wings so I could just float along like Fu."

Fu smiled widely, opening her arms invitingly and Ryuu sighed, waving his hand dismissively.

"The rendezvous should be just up ahead," Sasuke said.

"This person we're supposed to escort, he's important, right Kakashi Sensei?" Sakura asked.

"He's only the prince of Crescent Island," Ryuu said. "Otherwise known as the Land of the Moon. No one special."

"You just said he was a prince," Sakura said.

"Sarcasm," Sasuke said, stopping and sighing, wiping the sweat from his eyes. "We're here."

Just then, Yomo cawed loudly, circling down to land on Ryuu's shoulder, receiving a scratch under the beak as Fu landed beside him, her wings fading. Ahead of them, a convoy of wagons trundled along, heading directly for them. Ryuu smiled holding up a special food pill he had designed for Yomo, the bird eating it happily. A couple of minutes later, the convoy began to pass, one wagon stopping.

"Is this really all for one person?" Sakura asked.

"All these wagons, what the heck are they all for?" Naruto gaped.

"My shopping," a pleasant voice said as a fat man about Kakashi's age squeezed his way out of the wagon. "I saw so many wonderful things in all the lands we visited, I had to have them."

They turned, taking in the sight of the man before them. He wore shinobi sandals, grey pants, a blue shirt under a thin blue vest, a blue and white sash around his torso, the colors separated into alternating triangles, one necklace of a variety of rectangular stones, each a different color, a string of red pearls, a pair of thin silver bangles, a red bandanna with a white feather hanging from the back, and had shoulder-length brown hair.

"I kept buying and buying and pretty soon I ended up with all this," the man continued. "I am the Prince of the Land of the Moon. I'm Michiru. And you, I take it-"

"-are from the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Your Majesty," Kakashi finished for him. "I'm Kakashi Hatake, I'm the Squad Leader." He gestured to each of them in turn. "This is Naruto Uzumaki..."

"How do you do?" Naruto greeted politely.

"...Sakura Haruno..."

"Pleasure's mine," Sakura smiled.

"...Sasuke Uchiha..."

Sasuke simply nodded once.

"...Ryuu Uchiha..."

"At your service," Ryuu said, bowing slightly.

"...and Fu," Kakashi finished.

Fu bowed low, then stood and smiled brightly.

"The six of us are your escort," Kakashi said. "We're here to see you safely home to your kingdom."

"Well, I can see I'm in good hands," Michiru smiled before walking forward, stopping in front of Sakura and Fu. "Well, aren't the two of you awfully pretty. Far too pretty to be Ninja."

"Don't be deceived," Kakashi said. "They're well qualified."

"You don't say," Michiru said. "Thank you for coming." He held his hand out first to Fu then to Sakura, both shaking his hand in turn.

As both did, however, he laughed to himself for a moment, his freehand rubbing the back of theirs for a moment, a slight blush on his cheeks. Ryuu felt his eye twitch, seeing Sasuke having a similar reaction as Naruto openly glared at him. Then, Sakura squeezed his hand so tightly that Ryuu could hear the bones grinding and threatening to snap as Fu bent his other wrist almost out of socket, both girls smiling sweetly as Michiru shouted in pain, trying desperately to free himself. Finally, both released him. Naruto snickering into his hand and Ryuu and Sasuke both grinning.

"Like you said," Kakashi said. "You're in good hands."

"Uh...that's...very impressive," Michiru stammered just as a suction-cup-tipped arrow hit Naruto in the forehead protector, knocking him over.

"Defensive positions, take cover, we're under attack!" Naruto said as he jumped to his feet, kunai in hand and looking around wildly.

"In real life you'd be dead," a young boy said as he walked out of the same wagon Michiru had been in, toy bow in hand. "Father, are you sure about these people? They don't really look like much of an escort. Especially not the short one." He stopped, eyes scanning over them again, hovering on Fu for a moment before returning to his father.

The boy wore a white shirt, poncho, a white skirt-like cloth, and blue pants under it, all of the white clothes with blue triangles along the edges. He had a quiver on his back with his toy arrows inside and his bow was tucked unto his brown belt as he walked forward.

"Hey, wait just a minute there ya little-"

Kakashi caught Naruto as he walked forward, placing a hand over his mouth.

"I hope you'll forgive my son Hikaru," Michiru said, setting a hand on Hikaru's shoulder. "He's in that mischievious stage that boy's go through."

 _No, he's a spoiled rotten little brat,_ Ryuu thought, watching Hikaru again look to Fu like she was his property, adjusting his glasses.

"Nice to meet you, Hikaru," Kakashi said, still restraining Naruto.

"Well then, shall we be off?" Michiru said, he and Hikaru heading back toward the wagon.

"Just deal with it," Kakashi said, releasing Naruto. "Remember what I told you. If any harm comes to the prince, we'll have an international incident on our hands."

Naruto sighed and Ryuu turned to Sasuke.

"That brat lays one hand on Fu, and the hand comes off," Ryuu whispered, Sasuke smirking and nodding.

"Um, excuse me!" Michiru called from the wagon. "I hope it's not too much to ask, but Hikaru would like the green-haired one, Fu, was it?, to ride with us!"

"No," Ryuu said.

"Of course!" Kakashi called back, earning a death glare.

"I'll be okay, Ryuu," Fu said. "He's younger than we are and he's just a spoiled brat. What could he possibly do?"

"I don't want to find out," Ryuu said.

"It's fine," Fu smiled, kissing him before walking away. "I'll see you when we get there."

Ryuu grumbled several strings of curses under his breath before walking after her, taking his place to the left of Michiru and Hikaru's wagon. After another minute, they all began to walk, keeping pace with the convoy as they headed south. They were attacked a couple of times, but dealt with the bandits easily, Ryuu never getting more than a hundred meters from the princes' wagon. Then, finally, as the sun was setting, they stopped, setting up camp for the night.

* * *

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	39. Chapter 39

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Storm

Ryuu sighed contentedly, pulling the blanket tighter around himself and Fu. The below freezing temperatures of the desert were wreaking havoc on Naruto, who was sneezing and shivering badly beside them, keeping Ryuu awake, but thankfully, Fu was still as good a space heater as ever, because Ryuu was practically sweating from their shared body heat. He didn't mind staying awake, either. No sleep meant no dreams. When it came to be Ryuu's turn, he sat up with Fu, turning to face outboard and wrapped the blanket around them again, Fu nestling her head against the side of his neck and continuing to sleep soundly. Then, at first light, everyone packed up before it was too hot to work efficiently and they started out again, Fu once again having to ride with Hikaru and Michiru.

The trip was much quieter than the day before. The day wasn't nearly as hot, and they soon left the desert behind. Really the only thing to happen that day was Hikaru calling Naruto's dream to be Hokage, and his determination to reach that dream, stupid and Ryuu having to haul Naruto away from him to prevent him giving Hikaru the beating that the spoiled brat desperately needed. Around noon, they reached a small town with a circus happening and Michiru decided they had to stop. So, a few hours later, Ryuu was seated in the highest point in the bleachers with Fu beside him, watching the performers and their trained pets. The pets ranged from a wooly mammoth, to rhinos, ferrets, zebras, giraffes, monkeys, you name it. There were the standard trapeze acts, clowns, jugglers, animal trainers by the dozens. Finally, the ringmaster came out and announced that the last act had arrived, explaining that it was going to be a saber-toothed tiger named Chamu. A moment later, the spot lights centered on a grey-furred saber-tooth standing on a balcony above the ringmaster and behind him.

After a moment, Chamu roared, jumping to a lower platform, then the floor, the ringmaster beginning to explain how rare and dangerous Chamu was. Then, he introduced Chamu's monkey sidekick, Kiki. The two began to pass the ball between themselves, jump through flaming rings, and finally throw an apple into the air for the circus's archer to shoot. then, Kiki began to spin an apple on his finger as Chamu stood on his hind legs, swaying. The archer took aim, only for Hikaru's toy arrow to hit the apple perfectly. The ringmaster swung the light around at Hikaru, then applauded his skill. then, he got Kiki spinning another apple as Chamu began to run around the ring. The ringmaster invited Hikaru to shoot try again, and after several seconds of preparation and aiming, Hikaru shot the apple again. For a moment there was a stunned silence before everyone began to cheer, Ryuu smirking.

"Kid's a good shot," Ryuu smirked.

"Yes he is," Fu agreed.

Just then, Hikaru demanded Chamu as his prize for hitting the apple. And so began a very annoying process of the ringmaster trying to refuse and Michiru eventually buying the entire circus for a billion ryo. Ryuu could only stare.

"The amount of money this man throws around," Ryuu said, shaking his head. "To have the change out of his pocket would be..."

"More than we could spend," Fu said. "And more than we need."

Ryuu nodded in agreement. A few hours later, he and Fu stood off to the side, watching as crew finished packing up the circus. Ryuu looked to the side just in time to see Chamu move to attack Hikaru, who had been trying to feed him. Before Ryuu could react, Naruto tackled Hikaru out of the way and the ringmaster ran over, Chamu stopping and sitting down.

"Idiot kid," Ryuu sighed. "Just because you buy a tiger doesn't make it yours."

"At least he's okay," Fu said.

"Yeah," Ryuu grumbled. "Would have been a damn shame if he had been hurt."

Fu giggled, hugging him and he sighed. "It's only a couple more days. And just think, there's no real fighting involved for a change, so we don't have to really exert ourselves on this mission."

"True," Ryuu sighed. "Come on. It's time to turn in for the night."

* * *

Ryuu stared out to sea. A long day of travel, a long few hours of watching Hikaru's wife yell at Michiru for not understanding what really matters, and a long several hours of waiting for the prince's belongings to fail to be loaded onto the massively over-sized ship later, and they were finally underway. Ryuu liked Hikaru's mother. She wasn't like the prince or Hikaru. She was just a normal, loving mother. One who would have smartened Hikaru up, if she had had the time. But Michiru's lack of understanding about what true value was had driven her away three years ago.

"You look a lot less happy than I thought you'd be to finally have me all to yourself for the rest of the trip," Fu said from behind him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

Ryuu smiled, reaching up and resting his hand on her arms, leaning back against her. "I'm overjoyed. But I can't help feeling bad for Hikaru. I hate the kid's guts, but it's not his fault. He doesn't know any better."

"True," Fu nodded. "You're missing the party, you know."

"I don't need a party," Ryuu smiled. "I have you."

Fu smiled, kissing him for a moment before resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Hey you," Hikaru said from behind them, both turning.

"What?" Ryuu asked.

"I want her," Hikaru said, Ryuu raising an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?" Ryuu asked.

"I want her," Hikaru said. "She's pretty and she's really nice. I want her to stay with us after we get to my home. When I grow up, she can be my queen."

"No," Fu said, kindly but leaving no room for interpretation.

"Why not?" Hikaru asked. "I could buy you anything you want. Food, clothes, toys, pets. Even a palace all your own if you want. What could he give you?"

"Happiness," Fu said.

"What?" Hikaru asked, confused.

"I don't want your money," Fu said. "I'm happy with Ryuu."

"But, wouldn't you be happier having whatever you want?" Hikaru asked. "Why would you choose to be with someone who can't promise you that."

"Because money isn't as important as you think," Fu said. "I don't need to have everything I want given to me. I don't want that. I don't love Ryuu because he's rich or poor. I love Ryuu because he makes me happy. It's not something you can pay for. Money can't buy happiness. You would give me everything I could ever want, sure. But Ryuu is willing to give me everything he has, just to see me smile. He may not be rich like you, but to me, what Ryuu has to offer will always be worth more to me than all the money in the world."

"I don't understand," Hikaru said.

"I know," Fu said. "You've lived your entire life having everything handed to you. You've never been told no. But the only things really worth having in life are the things that money can't buy. The things that you have to work for. Nothing easy to get is worth having. Like love. No amount of money will make someone love you. They might love your money, but if the money were to suddenly be gone, they wouldn't love you in its place."

"So, you won't stay with me because of my money?" Hikaru asked.

"I won't stay with you because I love Ryuu," Fu said. "I will always love Ryuu and I will always be at his side, even if that means that I have nothing else, I will always be happy so long as I have him."

Ryuu's arms snaked around her waist, hugging her against him as he pressed his forehead to the back of her shoulder, his eyes watering. She reached an arm back, gently raking her fingers through his hair and smiling, leaning her head against his.

"Go back to the party, Hikaru," Fu said. "This discussion is over."

Hikaru turned, walking away as Fu turned into Ryuu's arms, wrapping her own around him.

"You didn't really think I'd leave you for him, did you?" Fu asked.

"No," Ryuu smiled. "But hearing you say all that...you're going to make me cry if you keep that up."

Fu smiled, extending her wings and lifting them off the deck, turning so they were horizontal and gently rolling, moving off the ship and down to the water. Ryuu smiled, lifting his head and brushing his fingers along the surface of the water for a moment before sitting up, spreading his arms and smiling.

"It's been way too long," Ryuu smiled down at Fu, who smiled back up at him.

"When are we going to work on teaching you to fly?" Fu asked.

"As soon as we find a way to give me wings," Ryuu said.

Fu nodded, smiling and taking his hands before speeding up, zipping around and around the ship. After a couple of warmup laps, Ryuu lay down against Fu again, both wrapping their arms around each other before Fu took off in a burst of speed, streaking through the air rapidly, spinning, flipping, and somersaulting as she went. Finally, she lowered them back to the deck of the ship as storm clouds began to gather overhead.

"We should get inside before the rain starts," Ryuu said. "It's going to be a rough ride soon."

Fu nodded and they headed inside, finding that everyone else had done the same. Within a few minutes, the ship began to rock and roll violently, Ryuu and Fu using chakra to keep themselves from being thrown around. After a few minutes, Kakashi found them.

"Come on, we have to secure the cargo and animals," Kakashi said.

Ryuu nodded and he and Fu ran out onto the deck with the others. The wet deck was harder to stick to than the dry floor inside, but they managed, running around and working to strap everything down to the ship. As they did, the circus workers began to guide the animals into the ship, to the cargo hold where there wasn't much room but they would at least be safe.

"Look out!" someone shouted.

Ryuu spun, a rope breaking free and slamming into his chest, throwing him into a cargo crate before a tarp that had been holding an entire pile of cargo in place flew into the air. Fu flew up to it instantly, catching the rope and flying it back down, securing it before flying to Ryuu. Just as she grabbed his arm, a massive wall of water crashed into them, throwing them away from each other. Ryuu washed overboard and Fu tried to fly after him, only to realize her wings had gotten wet and weren't working. Ryuu splashed down in the water, groaning. He focused his chakra, using it to help him surface and then stand on top of it, barely able to remain there.

"Ryuu!" Fu shouted from deck. "Jump! Grab my hand!"

Ryuu tried to push off, only for his feet to drop into the water the raging sea dragging him under again. Then, a pair of hands grabbed his ankles, a chain of Narutos dragging him out of the water and back up to the deck where Fu caught him, beginning to heal his bruised ribs instantly. He thanked her, taking a second to get his bearings before grabbing Fu and dropping as the same rope again broke free, lashing out above them before flying up again. Naruto's clones dragged it back to the deck and Ryuu tied it off before placing a handful of seals to act as more rope, securing it down more permanently this time. More rope was laid over the tarp as well, helping strap it down before they all moved on to the next pile of cargo.

"This ship is overweight!" Ryuu shouted over the storm as he watched another wave wash fully across the ship. "It's going to sink!"

"Don't jinx us!" Fu shouted back.

Just then, Ryuu heard Naruto shouting something and looked over in time to see Hikaru get washed overboard. As the water cleared, he saw Chamu had caught him by the shirt, along with Kiki, and was clinging to some rigging that had broken loose. Ryuu and Fu sprinted over, pulling the rigging back onto the ship where Chamu quickly carried his catch to Naruto, dropping him. Hikaru was unconscious and Fu quickly took him inside to Michiru's room before retuning, helping finish securing the cargo. Then, they all retreated below deck, riding out the rest of the storm.

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	40. Chapter 40

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Coup d'etat

Ryuu looked around the completely deserted streets in silence. Beside him, Fu did the same. Something was wrong. Horribly. These people's prince had returned and yet they couldn't be bothered to come and say hello?

"I don't like this," Ryuu said.

"Me neither," Fu agreed.

Ryuu glanced to the side, catching site of someone darting between a pair of buildings. He glanced up at Yomo, who was circling overhead, and saw Yomo looking around, clearly tracking several different people. Finally, they left the city, heading along a forest path until they reached a massive gate with the castle on the far side. The gate opened and they passed through, heading toward the castle. It was massive and made up of a bunch of round white pieces with blue along the top, all of the tops completely flat. In front of the castle was a large fountain and a pair of staircases leading up to the main door on a raised balcony.

"Not much of a 'welcome home,'" Michiru said as they stopped, he and Hikaru climbing out of the wagon, Hikaru remaining silent and glancing at Fu for a half second before returning his gaze to the castle.

After the storm, Hikaru had admitted to being lonely and not knowing how to make friends, though Chamu and Kiki both instantly tackled him to show him they were his friends, so Naruto and the others, Fu and Ryuu included, agreed to be his friends. Since then, he hadn't been acting like a spoiled brat. He had been much more pleasant to be around. And he no longer looked at Fu like she was a piece of property. Now, when he glanced at her it was more because he was thinking about what she had said on the ship.

Ryuu was yanked out of his thoughts as the door opened, two men waking out of it and stopping at the edge of the balcony. One wore a long-sleeved white shirt under a red vest with a pink sash wrapping around his torso. He had brown hair spiked up on the sides of the top and with his sideburns wrapping around into a bushy mustache. The other man wore a simple white robe, and had thin brown hair reaching backward down his head and just past his shoulders.

"Ah, Shabadaba," Michiru smiled, watching the man with the mustache.

"Well well, if it isn't Michiru," Shabadaba said, holding a hand bearing a ring on each finger to his chest. "Back from your travels? You must be weary from your long journey. You and young Hikaru are well, I hope?"

"Yes, thank you Shabadaba," Michiru smiled. "What's going on in town? Where is everyone? There was no one to meet us."

Shabadaba watched them all in silence and Ryuu's feeling that something was wrong skyrocketed. He rested his left hand on his trench knife's pouch, seeing Fu resting a hand on her kunai pouch as well.

"Shabadaba?" Michiru asked, receiving no response before looking around. "Where is my father? Is something wrong? Why didn't he come?"

"The king, I'm afraid, is dead!" Shabadaba said, laughing as he said the last word.

Suddenly, armed soldiers surged out of the castle, quickly surrounding them as Fu and Ryuu drew their weapons, the others doing the same.

"I rule in the Land of the Moon now," Shabadaba said. "Which means, there's no need for you anymore, Prince. Kill them all!"

The soldiers all shouted as they charged, only for Ryuu and Sasuke to jump, linking their arms and facing away from each other before spinning around in the air, releasing twin streams of flame, throwing the soldiers back without killing them. As they landed, the soldiers began to charge again. Everyone scattered into the soldiers, quickly laying waste to them, Michiru and Hikaru getting back into the carriage and leaving quickly. As they did, however, one solider managed to knock the driver off the carriage, soldiers swarming toward the carriage as it slowed to a stop. Ryuu used the Body Flicker Technique to get to the carriage, then darted into the ranks of the soldiers, quickly knocking them all out. It felt good to fight without killing. Finally. Then, just as he finished, another carriage, this one armored and with troops bearing a different uniform, arrived, one soldier jumping off of the carriage and charging. He wielded a cutlass, using it to quickly drop several soldiers before taking the carriage's reins and flicking them, getting the carriage moving away from the soldiers again, Ryuu covering his retreat as several soldiers tried to follow.

The second carriage followed the Prince's and Naruto's team fell back past Ryuu. Ryuu looked back as Kakashi slammed his hand into the ground, the ground breaking apart and making it impassable, then smirked, putting his weapons away and holding his hand up, Fu grabbing it as she streaked overhead, both turning invisible instantly, keeping anyone from seeing her wings. After a few minutes, they caught up to the carriage and landed, beginning to run again, fleeing through the streets of the city. Then, they took a side street, fleeing the city and heading into the mountains. After about half an hour, they reached a small cave deep in the mountains and stopped outside, Michiru and Hikaru going to the entrance before breaking out into a run. Ryuu walked to the mouth of the cave and saw why. An old man, clearly the king, was lying on a makeshift bed with a blanket over him.

"What...what happened to him?" Ryuu asked.

"There have been clashes of late between the king and his ministers, mainly Shabadaba," the leader of the soldiers that had helped them, Captain Korega, said. "Each side had different ideas about who they wanted to lead them. The king had hoped he could reason with them, sway them over to his side. However, Shabadaba decided to take matters into his own hands and try to overthrow the king. By chance, we discovered his plot before it was too late. The king knew the time had come for him to confront his ministers. He knew it would be dangerous so he sent the princes on a royal tour of many lands in order to protect them. Once you were safely out of the way, the king moved to settle the matter. But it was too late. Shabadaba had already hired shinobi mercenaries to secure his path to the throne. We were outmaneuvered and outmanned. We arrived in the knick of time. We were able to escape unharmed...but the king, to my shame, did not."

"Let me take a look at his injuries," Sakura said, stepping forward.

Hikaru pulled the blanket down and they all stared. Half of the king's torso had been turned to stone.

"It's turned to stone," Sakura breathed.

"Yes," Korega said. "One of these three shinobi has possession of a special jutsu. And due to my negligence, he was able to...use it on the king!"

"What do you think?" Kakashi asked.

"It's worth a shot," Sakura nodded, beginning to try and heal the king.

As she worked, Ryuu walked outside, staring at the sky and at Yomo, diligently standing watch. Ryuu sat down, Fu sitting beside him, and whistled. It had been a long time since he had tried it, he had killed a lot of people, but even still, dozens of birds answered his call, flying out of the trees and settling on his shoulders, head, legs, and around him. There were birds of all shapes, sizes, colors. Fu smiled upon seeing it, Ryuu smiling as well and stroking one of their heads. He saw Fu staring at one particularly colorful one about the size of a fist and set his hand in front of it the bird obediently stepping onto it. Then, he held the bird out to Fu, who gently scooped it up, beginning to pet it. She smiled as it brushed its hand against her finger.

"This is amazing," Fu smiled. "I've never seen anything like this."

"I used to spend more time around birds than I did people," Ryuu said. "When I was young, I'd spend all of my free time with them. Especially after my brother died. It's actually how I met Yomo. He just showed up one day and then wouldn't leave, so I kept him."

Fu smiled, slipping her hand into his, her bird now sitting on her leg. And that's where the two of them stayed for the next few hours.

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	41. Chapter 41

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Defeat

Ryuu watched the trees silently. He and Fu were on rear security while they tried to get the princes off the island. Suddenly, three shinobi leapt out of the trees, one of them, who looked like a young girl, hurled a kunai with an explosive tag.

"Bomb!" Fu shouted.

Ryuu whistled as the others scattered and a falcon shot out of the trees, using its talons to cut the cord holding the paper bomb to the kunai, then flew away. The kunai hit harmlessly and the tag exploded, spreading pink smoke through the air rapidly. Everyone leapt away from the smoke, Ryuu and Fu bringing Michiru with them. Once they were at a safe distance, they set Michiru on one of the canoes that were supposed to take him and Hikaru to a ship waiting to take them to safety. Then, they returned to the others, turning to face the three shinobi.

"Well hello there," one of the three, a man with purple sleeves extending from under a white vest, long messy orange hair, and a blank forehead protector matching the other two's, greeted. "You're pretty quick."

"Thank you," Ryuu said. "And you're pretty cocky."

The man grinned. "Hand over the prince and his son."

"Yeah like that'll ever happen," Naruto growled.

"Aren't you the spunky one," the man grinned, appearing behind Naruto and slamming a palm strike into him, launching him across the sand.

Then, as Naruto stood, he appeared in front of him again, beginning to pummel Naruto backward rapidly. Naruto flipped, kicking and punching at him before drawing a kunai and slashing rapidly, nothing coming close to the ninja.

"What's wrong?" the man asked. "What are you swinging at?"

He slammed a knee into Naruto's gut then punched him, launching him backward again before leaping over Ryuu's tanto. As he landed, Ryuu spun, exhaling a massive fireball at him, only for him to dodge around it.

"You might actually present a challenge," the man grinned. "What's your name?"

"Ryuu Uchiha," Ryuu said.

"My name's Ishidate," the man grinned. "Shall we see if you're as good as you name suggests?"

"No," Ryuu said just as Fu's foot slammed into the man's head, blasting him sideways into a cliff.

He dropped to the ground, pushing himself up and snarling with rage. Then, he appeared beside Fu, grabbing her by the head and slamming her into the ground. Except, glowing red lines covered her body instantly, spreading from a glowing eye on his hand. Then, in the blink of an eye, Fu was encased in stone. Ryuu roared in rage, flames spewing from his mouth and forcing Ishidate to leap away from Fu. In an instant, Sakura was beside them, beginning to work on saving Fu instantly. As she did, Ryuu charged after Ishidate, only to be intercepted by the girl, who Sakura had been fighting earlier. She was fast, using a kunai and her speed to her advantage, but Ryuu was not in the mood to play around. Kakashi moved to face Ishidate in Ryuu's stead and Ryuu allowed the girl to stab him, catching her wrist, making her eyes widen in shock.

"You think slowed reaction time guarantees you a win?" Ryuu snarled. "Think again."

He slashed downward at her and she shrieked in fear and pain, breaking her own hand to escape death. Instead, she received a gash in her right shoulder. Then, she flipped backward, landing beside a ring of soldiers on horseback, who had surrounded Michiru. Ryuu stepped forward only for the biggest of the three enemy shinobi to appear beside him, slamming a kick into his face and launching him out to sea. As he surfaced, he looked toward the shore, seeing Naruto kick the largest of the three shinobi, who had been flying across the water, and send him crashing to shore. Ryuu pushed himself out of the water, activating his Sharingan. If they wanted to fight dirty, so would he.

Before he could, however, cherry blossom petals began to swirl around him. He smirked, Sharingan easily watching the girl shooting around and around him, kunai in hand. She darted in to slash him and he spun, tripping her then spinning again and slamming his foot into her gut, blasting her backward. She crashed down on the beach, bouncing once before flipping to her feet, staring at him in shock.

"That's impossible!" she shouted. "No one can see me move at that speed!"

"I just did," Ryuu snarled, his hand lighting up with electricity. "Want to try again?"

"That's enough," Ishidate said. "Kongo, Karenbana, we're leaving."

"Right," Kongo, the larger one, nodded.

"Okay," Karenbana nodded.

Then, the three of them were gone, the soldiers taking off with Michiru dragging along behind them, now with a cloth binding him completely. Ryuu spun, using the Body Flicker Technique to reach Fu, kneeling beside Sakura and staring down at his petrified girlfriend.

"Well?" Ryuu asked.

"Don't worry," Sakura said. "I can save her."

Ryuu nodded, no less worried. But, as he watched Sakura work over the next few minutes, the stone slowly receded over Fu's body before disappearing entirely. Finally, Sakura's hands stopped glowing and she set Fu on her back, feeling for a pulse before sighing, a small, tired smile spreading over her face.

"Done," Sakura said. "She'll be fine now."

Ryuu nodded, taking Fu's hand and showing no sign that he intended to move. While he sat there, Sakura moved to treat Kakashi's arm. Finally, Fu stirred, eyes opening. She smiled tiredly up at him and he smiled back, wiping the tears from his cheeks. Fu reached up, cupping his cheek and weakly pulling. Ryuu bent down, kissing her. After a moment, he pulled back, pulling her up with him, holding her against himself.

"I thought I lost you," Ryuu said.

"Never," Fu said. "I'm not going anywhere without you."

Ryuu smiled, resting his chin on top of her head, closing his eyes and enjoying the knowledge that she was alive. They stayed like that for hours before anyone tried to bother them. When they did, it was long past sunrise. Finally, Sakura walked over.

"It's time to go," Sakura said. "We have to save Michiru."

Ryuu nodded, standing and setting Fu on her feet, Fu leaning on him for support, still weak from nearly dying. He looked around, seeing that the remaining guards, Captain Korega having been petrified and shattered by Ishidate apparently, were gathered, along with Team Kakashi, the entirety of the circus and their animals, and Hikaru.

"We're going to have the circus help us sneak in," Kakashi said as Ryuu and Fu reached them. "Then, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and you, Ryuu, will be going inside to deal with the shinobi and make sure prince Michiru is saved. Fu, you'll be sitting this one out."

"I'll be fine," Fu said.

"He's right, Fu," Ryuu said. "Stay out of this fight. There's more than enough of us to deal with this. You just need to worry about resting."

Fu was silent for a moment before nodding.

"Okay," Kakashi said. "Here's the plan."

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	42. Chapter 42

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Snapped

Ryuu tossed the swords into the air, beginning to juggle them. They were supposed to be dull, but he had sharpened them especially for the show. The plan had taken all day to prepare, so it was already dark out. However, thankfully, Michiru wasn't dead yet. Instead, he was standing on a board extended from one of the towers, a noose around his neck as he watched the circus performers.

Off to Ryuu's side, Fu was acting as an acrobat, easily pulling off stunts like jumping from the top of a gate to an elephant's raised trunk and back again. He had to hand it to her. She was an excellent actor. He looked back at the crowd they had gathered. Not quite big enough to start, and the three shinobi weren't there. Which meant the others would meet them first. But he would be the one to deal with Ishidate. That much he had made the others swear to. He was sure that later the amount of hate and bloodlust he felt for Ishidate would scare him and give him nightmares. And he was sure that he should be worried by just how much he wanted to see Ishidate's head separated from his shoulders, but for the time being he only needed to worry about being a distraction.

"We're ready Sensei," Sakura said over their communicators.

Kakashi made his way to the edge of the fountain, the crowd turning to him. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, our grand finale." He pulled his eyepatch off of his Sharingan. "So sit back, and enjoy!"

Ryuu glanced up at the balcony where he could see the three shinobi watching with Shabadaba, seeing them instantly recognize Kakashi. He grinned, spinning one of his four swords in his right hand. Showtime. Kakashi formed several hand seals, the water behind him exploding skyward into a tornado, then into a dragon, spewing a massive flood of water at the guards who were watching the show, washing them away and leaving most too dazed to get up. Then, Kakashi threw his disguise off. Guards moved to attack and Ryuu hurled his swords, the sharpened blades sticking into the ground, seals script spreading from them into a box. Then, as almost half of the soldiers entered the box, the seal script shone gold and a barrier shot up around them, trapping them inside.

"Nice one!" Kakashi said as Ryuu released his transformation Jutsu. "Go and help the others."

Ryuu nodded, taking one step back before leaping forward, curling into a ball. Halfway to the castle, Fu's foot collided with his own feet and he pushed off, rocketing away from her and to the base of the tower Michiru was hanging from. Just as he flipped and landed on his feet, Ishidate fell toward him, swiping at him only for Ryuu to flip sideways out of the way, Sharingan activating.

"Nice try," Ryuu snarled. "But I'm not going to fall for that. And this time, there's no poison slowing me down. I'm going to rip you apart and watch you choke to death on your own intestines!"

Ishidate smirked, holding up his right hand, the eye glowing bright orange as his free hand drew a kunai. "Good trick with that barrier ninjutsu earlier. You're pretty skilled."

"Save your talk for someone who cares," Ryuu snarled, releasing his gravity seals. "Just die!"

He appeared behind Ishidate, slamming both fists into his back and blasting him into the ground before flipping and punting him away, off of the tower they were on and into a different one. He leapt after him, crashing down before Ishidate, who staggered backward, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.

"What the hell are you!?" he gaped. "No one's that fast!"

"Think again," Ryuu snarled, suddenly behind Ishidate.

Ishidate spun, meaning to escape only for Ryuu to catch his right arm, slashing with a kunai. Ishidate flipped, kicking at Ryuu and making him duck under it. Then, as soon as Ishidate's feet his the ground, he leapt backward, away from Ryuu. Ryuu stood, glaring at him and Ishidate smirked.

"You're not so quick after all," Ishidate grinned.

"Aren't I?" Ryuu asked.

Ishidate looked down, feeling his gut drop as he stared at the kunai sticking out of the back of his hand, stabbed into the now bleeding eye. He shouted in fear as his own arm began to turn to stone, spreading from the gauntlet slowly.

"I win," Ryuu said. "Either you remove your own arm, or you turn to stone. Which will it be?"

Ishidate shouted in rage, drawing a kunai and streaming chakra along it, slashing down on his arm at the elbow, severing it. Blood sprayed from the wound and Ishidate fell to one knee. Then, Ryuu appeared beside him, flames bursting to life in his hand as he slammed it into Ishidate's stump, cauterizing it as Ishidate screamed. Finally, Ryuu released his arm and leapt backward, avoiding a sloppy slash. Ishidate fell to his knees, falling forward to his one hand and gasping for breath. His hair shifted forward then fell away, revealing it to be a wig, leaving short light brown hair in its place.

"Nice wig," Ryuu said. "What's the matter? What happened to all that cockiness you had before? Can't fight without your arm? Some shinobi you are."

Ishidate glared at him, pushing himself up and readying himself, holding his kunai tightly. "You little shit! Just die!"

* * *

Sasuke flipped over Kongo's fist, landing lightly and sweeping his legs out from under him, flipping and slamming a foot into Kongo's back, blasting him away. Kongo crashed into a pillar, shattering it before pushing himself up.

"How are you so fucking strong!?" Kongo shouted. "It's impossible! You're just a brat!"

"Yeah, I am," Sasuke said. "You must be so ashamed of yourself right now for losing to a kid without landing a hit."

"I haven't lost anything yet!" Kongo shouted, slamming his fists into the ground, blasting it apart and charging at Sasuke, grabbing a pair of massive chunks and hurling them.

Sasuke flipped over the chunks and landed on his feet, dropping and sliding under Kongo, knocking the leg that was about to be put down backward and making him crash to the ground, biting his tongue completely off. Kongo shouted in pain, clutching his face and rolling over as Sasuke stepped up over him, placing a foot on his chest.

"As for how I'm this strong, I have a friend to thank for it," Sasuke said. "And one day, when I find my brother, I'll be able to thank that same friend for allowing me to have the strength to kill my brother. So, as you can see, you're not worth my time."

Kongo's hand snapped up, catching Sasuke's leg and beginning to hurl him only for Sasuke to flip, kicking Kongo's arm in the back of the elbow, breaking it, then grabbing Kongo, hurling him skyward. He leapt after Kongo slamming a foot into Kongo's left side, breaking that arm too, then flipped, smashing his fist into Kongo's face, launching him at the ground. Then, he flipped, falling after Kongo and smashing his heel into Kongo's chest at the same time as Kongo hit the ground, crushing his ribcage and killing him. He flipped backward, landing on his feet and sighed.

"Oops," Sasuke said. "That might have been a little much."

He heard Sakura scream and took off, leaping to the door the others had gone through and then following the hallways quickly. Finally, he stepped out into a room where Sakura was surrounded by flower petals. However, just as he arrived, Sakura spun, smashing her fist into the girl she had been fighting, knocking her backward before hurling several kunai with paper bombs, the explosion blasting the girl into the wall. She wasn't dead, however, until an explosion hit the tower, making the wall the girl had just damaged collapse on her.

"Shit!" Sakura said. "That wasn't supposed to happen."

"That's got to be Naruto," Sasuke said.

"I don't know," Sakura said as they ran. "Ryuu seemed pretty pissed off at Ishidate."

"Yes, but Ryuu doesn't kill," Sasuke said.

Just then, they stepped outside and stopped, staring. Naruto and the guards had been fighting the soldiers loyal to Shabadaba and Naruto had clearly used his Rasengan, a jutsu he had shown Sasuke when he got back from his mission to find Tsunade, resulting in the explosion that killed the girl, as well as rendering all of the soldiers Naruto had been fighting completely unconscious. But the thing Sasuke and Sakura were staring at was hanging from a tower in the distance. Ishidate, his right arm amputated and cauterized at the elbow, his abdomen cut open and his intestines stuffed down his throat. In addition to that, there were obvious signs of him having been beaten to a bloody pulp, such as the dark bruises covering his face, his swollen right eye, and his broken left arm. Around his neck as a noose was a wire cable.

"Jesus!" Sakura breathed. "What happened to him?"

Just then, Ishidate's body dropped, his head spinning away as the wire cable finished cutting through his neck, decapitating him. Sakura turned away, vomiting, and Sasuke could only stare in shock. Then, his eyes drifted up to the top of the tower above Ishidate, staring at Ryuu, blood coating his hands and forearms, sprayed across his torso and face, and his Sharingan glowing blood red. Fear filled Sasuke. Fear of his best friend and brother. And fear of himself Fear that he would become this. This thing who was so clearly inhuman, who cared only about revenge, to the point of losing his humanity to get it.

Then, Ryuu blinked, his Sharingan deactivating and fell to his knees, hands moving to his face as he sobbed. Sasuke stared in shock. He couldn't believe that he had expected anything else from Ryuu, and yet, he also couldn't believe it had been Ryuu who did that to Ishidate.

"Help him," Sakura said.

Sasuke nodded, sprinting to the tower, then up the side of it, stopping as he reached Ryuu and kneeling, setting a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" Ryuu shouted, smacking Sasuke's hand away yet continuing to sob. "I'm a monster!"

"No, you're not," Sasuke said. "You..." he found he didn't know what to say. He didn't have the slightest idea how to comfort Ryuu in this situation.

Fortunately for him, Fu landed beside him a moment later. She knelt instantly, pulling Ryuu into a hug and not letting go, even when he tried to push her away, swearing and sobbing and shouting for her to leave him alone. Finally, he settled for wrapping his arms around her and sobbing into her shoulder. Sasuke remained where he was, one hand on Ryuu's shoulder, unsure what else to do.

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	43. Chapter 43

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Broken

Ryuu stared at the ceiling in silence. Beside him, Fu held him a little tighter, curling into his side. He could feel her crying, worried about him. After all. In the three days they had been staying in the Land of the Moon to recover from the incident involving Ishidate, he had yet to sleep for even a second. Every time he closed his eyes he saw what he had done to Ishidate. He saw himself, covered in blood and with his Sharingan glowing, reflected in Sasuke's eyes. He saw the fear there, pure terror, cause by the mere sight of him. He was a monster. No question about it. A monster, and a mass murderer for hire. Everything his clan had ever wanted for him. His brother would be so ashamed.

He sat up, Fu sitting up with him, watching him worriedly. He pulled the covers off of himself, standing and pulling his shirt on. "I need some air." He walked out of the hotel room, walking to the street and then silently making his way down the road, passing by dark houses and empty back alleys. He wasn't really sure what he was looking for. There was nothing that would comfort him if even Fu couldn't help.

After about thirty minutes of wandering aimlessly, he found himself back at his room. He opened the door silently, peeking inside and seeing Fu on the bed, sobbing into her knees. He stepped inside, closing the door and walking over to the bed, sitting down and pulling her into a hug. Fu hugged him back, sobbing into his shoulder and he felt his heart break. He was hurting her. Badly. She was breaking almost as much as him.

He lay down, pulling the sheet up over them and held her against him, curling his body protectively around hers. Then, he forced his eyes closed, allowing the images to flood his mind, tears finally began to fall. He wanted to open his eyes, force the images away, run away from what he had done. But he couldn't. Not if it was going to hurt Fu like this. He couldn't run away any longer. He had to face it. No matter how badly it would hurt him to do it.

By the time the images became nightmares, he could barely even tell the difference. He was sitting in the fetal position in a dark void, faces of those he had killed once around swirling him. But this time, hands began to grab him, pulling at him. He grit his teeth, chanting "It's just a dream" over and over again in his mind. The hands yanked and he began to fall. He looked up, seeing himself. He looked down. Ishidate was clutching at his left leg, dragging him downward. Around Ishidate were the countless others who Ryuu had killed. Ryuu fought to get free, begging them to release him. Then, finally, a hand caught his. He looked up, seeing Shisui, both eyes missing and blood flowing out, body broken and bloodied from being thrown from a cliff.

"You're a monster Ryuu," Shisui said.

"No!" Ryuu pleaded. "Please! Shisui no! Brother!"

"You're no brother of mine," Shisui said.

Then, Ryuu was falling again, the hands suddenly tearing at his body. He screamed as he felt his flesh being torn away. Before they could do much more, however, Fu slapped him awake. He stared at her in silence, feeling the tears on his cheeks and seeing the ones on hers.

"I'm sorry," he managed to force out, his throat dry once again.

He sat up, wrapping his arms around Fu as she did the same.

"Please tell me how to help you," Fu pleaded. "Tell me what I need to do."

"I don't know," Ryuu said. "I wish I did."

Fu nodded and fell silent. Then, they stayed there for the rest of the night. As the sun rose the next day, Ryuu left the hotel, Fu following, and began to wander through town again. Again he didn't know what he was looking for, but it felt like he was looking for something. Like he'd know what it was when he saw it. Finally, he slowed to a stop, hearing what sounded like singing. For lack of a better idea, he turned, walking toward the sound until he reached a church. He hadn't attended a church once in his life. He didn't even know what to do there. But, since he had no other ideas of what to do, he pushed the door open carefully, Fu following him as they quietly slipped into the church, sitting at the back. They remained silent as the singing came to a close and a man stood at the front of the church, beginning to preach. Some parts of it Ryuu caught, but in the end, it was all just meaningless words to him. Finally, everyone bowed their heads to pray. Ryuu and Fu did the same, but Ryuu stopped for a moment. He had prayed before, but never really _to_ anyone, just in general. After a moment, he decided to try praying specifically to the God the preacher was talking about. Maybe it would help this time. It was certainly a comforting thought for there to be an all-powerful all-knowing being watching over him that could forgive him for his sins no matter what they were or how numerous they were.

 _Um, hello?_ Ryuu prayed silently. _God? Um, I know I've never...tried praying to you specifically before, or even really ever believed in you, but...if you_ are _there...if you_ are _real...I could use some help. I_ need _your help. I...I've done some things...a_ lot _of things...that I'm not so proud of. I've hurt a lot of people..._ killed _a lot of people. I don't know if I can be forgiven, but I can't sleep, I can't think, I can't even close my eyes, without seeing their faces. It's slowly killing me, I can feel it. But, that's not why I need your help. It's Fu. She's suffering even more than I am. I can see it in her eyes. So, if there's anything you could do, or if there's any way I could be forgiven, so that Fu won't have to watch me suffer anymore...please. I'll do anything you ask if you can...if you can just...I don't know._

He opened his eyes, staring at the ground for a moment before lifting his head and looking around. The preacher finished his sermon and people began to file out. Ryuu stayed where he was, Fu looking at him worriedly. Suddenly, a hand settled on Ryuu's shoulder and he looked back, seeing the preacher.

"What's your name, son?" the preacher asked.

"Ryuu," Ryuu said.

"Come with me," the preacher said. "I would like to talk to you, if you have a moment."

Ryuu nodded and he and Fu stood, following him through a door near the front of the room and into a small empty room with a few chairs. They all sat down and the preacher took a breath before beginning.

"You don't believe in God, do you?" the preacher asked.

"I don't know," Ryuu said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause any problems."

"Oh, it's not like that at all," the preacher smiled. "We're always happy to welcome new people. What I meant was, would you believe me if I told you that you would be here today?"

"What do you mean?" Ryuu asked.

"Last night, I had a dream," the preacher said. "In that dream, there was a boy who was surrounded by demons and the ghosts of those he had wronged. He was drowning in his sin. But then, a light shone on that boy, drawing him back from the darkness. And when I awoke, I knew that that same boy, you, would be at my sermon today."

"So, what, you can see the future?" Ryuu asked. "And my dreams?"

"No," the preacher said. "The lord allowed me a glimpse at your troubles, and told me through my dreams that you would be here, and need my help."

"What can you do?" Ryuu asked, trying not to sound skeptical or rude. "Take away my dreams?"

"I can pray for you," the preacher said. "God can do anything, so long as you pray."

Ryuu was silent for a long moment, staring at the floor. Finally, he looked up at the preacher. "What do I do?"

"Have you ever heard of someone going to confession?" the preacher asked.

"No," Ryuu said.

"Okay," the preacher nodded. "A confession is where a person goes to a priest and confesses their sins before God."

"Why does he need the priest if he's talking to God?" Ryuu asked.

"Well, it's kind of like the priest is playing telephone," the preacher said. "The person talks to the preacher and God hears him, then, the preacher prays to God to ask for forgiveness for the person, and for the wisdom to help them. And if God is willing, the preacher receives it."

"Well, what if a person weren't able to get to a preacher?" Ryuu asked. "Could they still get forgiveness? And how does someone become qualified to ask god for the wisdom to help others?"

The preacher chuckled and Ryuu blushed slightly, staring at the ground.

"Sorry," Ryuu said.

"No no," the preacher smiled. "You remind me of myself before I was saved. Yes, a person could still be forgiven for their sins without a priest. The priest is to help them understand God's word, and to help them understand what God is telling them. As for becoming qualified, you don't simply, become qualified. You just ask. It's up to God whether or not he wants to help someone through you or simply help them directly. Now, back to the original subject. I think you should try a confession."

"Okay," Ryuu nodded. "How?"

"First, say, 'Forgive me father for I have sinned,' and then confess your sins," the preacher said.

"Father?" Ryuu blinked.

"That's what priests are called in our religion," the preacher said.

"Okay," Ryuu said. "What counts as a sin?"

The preacher smiled. "I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt not have any strange gods before me. It means that He is the one true God and you may only worship him. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. No swearing. Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day. Every seventh day, which is today, is known as the Sabbath day, and it is a day that we worship God. Honor thy father and mother. Thou shalt not kill."

Ryuu's eyes fell to the ground instantly.

"Thou shalt not commit adultery," the preacher continued. "Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Don't lie."

Ryuu nodded.

"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife," the preacher said. "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods. Anything that you've done which broke those rules is a sin in the eyes of God. And all sins, as strange as it may sound to us humans, is equal in the eyes of God. Stealing is no more acceptable to him than taking a life."

Ryuu nodded, thinking for a moment. "Forgive me father for I have sinned."

"What sins have you committed?" the preacher asked.

"I've killed," Ryuu said. "A lot. I'm a shinobi, and it's a part of the job, but I've taken a lot of lives. Three were attacking a village I was hired to defend. Several were trying to harm Fu." he gestured to Fu, the preacher nodding. "A couple days ago, I killed a man that was trying to assassinate Prince Michiru, but it was different from the rest. I didn't kill him because it was the job. I killed him because he had hurt Fu. I was so angry...and I just snapped. I hurt him. A lot. I forced him to cut of his own arm, then cauterized it just so he wouldn't bleed out too early. Then I spent almost ten minutes beating him to death as slowly as I could. Once I was finished, I hanged him from the wall of the castle with wire so that it would cut off his head."

"You've felt the presence of the devil," the preacher said. "The devil was an angel, holy beings created by God before humans, and who were then told to love humans as they loved God. However, the devil refused to love humans, for we are imperfect, sinful creatures. For that, God cast him out of heaven. The devil retaliated by tempting humans with sin, trying to draw them away from God."

Ryuu nodded.

"What other sins have you committed?" the preacher asked.

"I've lied," Ryuu said. "To others, to myself. I've lied about being okay, I've lied about who I am, what I've done. I lie all the time. And there was a time when I didn't respect my parents. After my brother's death, they treated me like I never existed, like I was my brother. I hated them for it. I wished for them to die. Right up until the day they did."

The preacher remained silent for a few moments. "Loss is difficult no matter the form. Everyone handles it differently. All we can hope to do is accept it and try to be better for it. Anything else?"

"I swear," Ryuu said. "A lot. And...I've never been religious. I've never...I've never believed in God. Never really cared about whether or not there was a God. I just...I was just more concerned with my own life."

The preacher nodded. "And what about now?"

"I...I don't know," Ryuu said. "Maybe?"

The preacher chuckled. "Maybe is good. God can work with maybe. Here. I want you to have this." He held out a book with the word "Bible" on the cover in gold lettering. "You have a church in your home village, right?"

Ryuu nodded.

"Good," the preacher nodded. "Then I want you to take the bible with you to them and ask the preacher there to teach you."

"Someone that went to that church described it differently than this one," Ryuu said. "He said that their preachers taught them that each person communicates with god themselves and asks God directly for help."

"There are many different types of Christians," the preacher smiled. "Personally, I believe that so long as you are worshiping the same God, and so long as you are following the ten commandments, the rules I said earlier, then the exact method with which you do it doesn't matter as much. Either way, the priest in charge of that church will be more than happy to help you."

Ryuu nodded, standing.

"Just a moment," the man said. "Normally, at the end of a confession, there would be a specific prayer that you would have to say a number of times. However, in this case, I believe this should suffice." He stood, closing his eyes and setting his hand on Ryuu's shoulder. "Lord, I thank you for bringing me this lost soul and giving me the chance to set him on the right path. I pray that you watch over him and guide him down the path you have set before him. Help him to be a follower of you, and an example to others of how to live, Lord. Help him to sleep at night without being haunted by his sins so that he might rest, for he is weary and in need of your aid, oh Lord. Watch over him, oh God, and help him to see your light and your majesty. Fill his heart with your grace, God, so that he may know your love. In Jesus holy name we pray, amen."

Ryuu watched the man as he opened his eyes and smiled. Ryuu forced a smile as well and thanked him again for the Bible then left with Fu. He could feel Fu watching him as they walked, Ryuu's hand holding the Bible against him, as though he were afraid to lose it. After a little while longer of wandering, they returned to the hotel room and lay in bed, Fu resting her head on his chest as Ryuu braced himself for more nightmares. However, as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, he found that he wasn't plagued by the faces of those he had killed, and instead fell into a deep, restful sleep at last.

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	44. Chapter 44

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Training

Ryuu walked out of the church, Fu beside him, and smiled slightly. It was late, nearly midnight, but the pastor, as this church's preacher was called, had spent from about six in the morning until now teaching Ryuu and Fu about his religion, at Ryuu's request. Ryuu understood the religion a lot better because of it, but he still wasn't sure if he really believed in it. He was willing to give it a chance though, if it would help with his nightmares.

Ryuu and Fu returned to their house, going to bed and waking up bright and early and heading to Tsunade's office. When Ryuu knocked on the door, it swung open to reveal Danzo Shimura, who glowered down at them. Ryuu's tanto was in his hand in an instant.

"Stop!" Tsunade's voice ordered, Ryuu freezing, looking past her to Tsunade. "Danzo, we'll finish this discussion later. Leave. Now."

Danzo gave a stiff bow before walking past the two genin. Ryuu stepped inside with Fu and closed the door, turning to Tsunade.

"Is he still going to be a problem?" Ryuu asked.

"No," Tsunade said. "If you have any trouble with him or his ANBU, tell me and I'll have him arrested. Anyway, what can I do for you?"

"Do you have any missions that don't involve killing anyone?" Ryuu asked.

"I do," Tsunade nodded. "There's a race being held in the Land of Tea. The race is to decide the leadership of the Land of Tea, and one of the two families competing has asked for us to protect their runner."

"I see," Ryuu nodded. "Who's going on the mission?"

"Originally, Team Kakashi would be going, though Kakashi's busy and would be staying here," Tsunade said. "However, I think you and Fu can handle it."

"What will they be doing?" Ryuu asked.

"I've got some other missions they can do," Tsunade said.

Ryuu nodded. "Okay. When do we leave?"

Tomorrow," Tsunade said. "For today, you're going to be training with some of your academy classmates."

"Who?" Ryuu asked.

"Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, and Lee," Tsunade said. "Kakashi and Kurenai said they have something special for all of you. They should be gathering at the Third Training ground in an hour."

Ryuu nodded, leaving with Fu and heading to the Third Training Ground, waiting for the others to arrive. After an hour and ten minutes, everyone except Kakashi had arrived.

"Well, since he's probably going to be late, we're going to start without him," Kurenai said. "Now, the training today is going to be split. I'll be teaching you all some more advanced genjutsu. Kakashi is _supposed_ to be teaching you all advanced ninjutsu. Looks like we'll have to skip that for now."

"Um, Kurenai Sensei, I can't do Genjutsu," Naruto said.

"Neither can I," Lee said.

"They're right," Ryuu said. "Why don't they work on taijutsu together. Both could stand to learn something from the other."

"Good idea," Kurenai said. "Alright. Lee, Naruto, you're both going to work on your taijutsu together."

"Which mainly means Lee's going to train Naruto to be something other than a brawler," Ryuu said.

"Actually, I've been working with Naruto on his Taijutsu," Sasuke said. "He's gotten pretty good."

Kurenai nodded, Naruto and Lee moving away from the others to train on their own as Kurenai began to drill the remaining four on genjutsu relentlessly. At first, it wasn't hard, even without Sharingan. But then, Kurenai began to teach them genjutsus that relied completely on chakra control, rather than any kind of visual genjutsu. Ryuu saw Fu and Hinata struggling at the techniques, Hinata more so than Fu, while he and Sasuke learned them at an alarming rate, though nowhere near the rate they picked up any that involved using their eyes. Finally, they all stopped as Kakashi arrived, Yugao just behind him and both holding swords. Ryuu grinned, drawing his Tanto and forming a Vacuum Blade. Sasuke used his Sharingan to copy it and Fu formed a water blade from the water in the air. Ryuu looked to the others, Lee looking excited, Naruto confused, and Hinata watching Ryuu and Fu's jutsus in silence.

"What chakra natures do you have?" Ryuu asked her.

"Fire and Lightning," Hinata said.

"I see," Ryuu nodded. "The only sword-type jutsu I know for fire is...not a training jutsu."

"It's alright," Yugao said. "We brought extras. Here."

She tossed a scroll into the air, three katanas appearing out of it and stabbing into the ground. Lee, Hinata, and Naruto all picked on up and Ryuu glanced at Naruto.

"Sasuke, teach him to make Vacuum Blades," Ryuu said. "After this, I mean."

Sasuke nodded and they turned back to Kakashi and Yugao.

"Ryuu, you're going to help us teach them," Kakashi said.

Ryuu blinked in surprise. "Really?"

"You're almost as skilled with a blade as I am, when you use your Sharingan," Yugao said. "You'll be training Naruto and Fu."

"Fu doesn't need training in kenjutsu," Ryuu said. "She's better than me. By a lot."

"Alright, Naruto and Lee, then," Yugao said. "Fu can help you. I'll take Hinata, and Kakashi can deal with Sasuke."

Kakashi, Fu, and Ryuu all nodded and Ryuu glanced at Kurenai, who had a knowing grin on her face. He swallowed hard, preparing himself for genjutsu interruptions. He, Fu, Naruto, and Lee all walked a short distance away from the others. Ryuu glanced at the other pairs, watching them other pairs train, going straight into trying to hack each other up and then learning to not leave themselves open from there.

"Aren't we going to attack each other?" Naruto asked as Ryuu was deciding which defensive techniques to start with.

"No," Ryuu said. "You'll be learning to defend yourself before you learn to kill others."

"What's the point of that?" Naruto asked. "If I hit you before you hit me, I win, right?"

"Attack me and I'll show you," Ryuu said, Fu taking a couple of steps away from Ryuu.

Naruto sprinted forward, shouting like an idiot as he did, then made a huge, sweeping, overhead slash at Ryuu. Ryuu easily sidestepped the blow, sweeping Naruto's legs out from under him with the side of his Vacuum Blade, then stabbing the ground beside Naruto's head as he landed. Naruto flipped to his feet, stepping forward and taking a baseball swing at Ryuu with the sword. Ryuu dropped, deflecting the blade upward before flipping his tanto over, tapping the buttcap against Naruto's gut.

"Not only have I killed you twice now, but if that swing had connected with anything, it also would have just broken your sword," Ryuu said. "Now, would you like to learn to wield that thing properly, or would you like to keep waving it around like an idiot?"

"I want to learn," Naruto said, dejectedly.

"Good," Ryuu said. "Now, we're going to start with basics and defense, because with defense, you can offset your opponent then counter and deliver a much more lethal blow than if you tried to rush in and slash him. This way, you'll already be in close enough to do a lot more damage, and you won't have to worry about the opponent seeing you coming while you're still trying to close the distance."

Lee and Naruto nodded, Ryuu showing them, mostly Naruto, how to properly hold and swing a katana, then different blocks. He walked them through a number of more basic defensive techniques and evasions, working them continuously until they could both perform the techniques passably well. Then, he moved on to more advanced techniques and combinations of techniques. After they had gotten the hang of that, he added in some basic counter slashes, ones mostly meant to disable, rather than kill. As expected, Lee picked it up much faster than Naruto, due to already being an expert in Taijutsu and skilled with several kinds of weapons. naruto, on the other hand, was starting to get impatient and bored.

"Naruto," Ryuu said. "Focus."

"But Sasuke and Hinata are over there learning awesome attacks and stuff!" Naruto complained.

"How come they're not learning defensive shit?" Naruto asked.

"You think their training is superior to yours?" Ryuu asked.

"Yes!" Naruto said. "Swords were meant to kill people! That's what we're supposed to be learning!"

Ryuu was silent for several seconds. Then, he nodded. "Okay. Sasuke! Come and fight Naruto!"

"What!?" Naruto shouted. "I can't fight Sasuke! He's Sasuke!"

"You're not having a Taijutsu match, it's Kenjutsu," Ryuu said. "Sasuke, no Sharingan, no lifting gravity seals. Both of you are only to use the sword techniques you've been taught today."

Both nodded, Naruto much more worriedly and hesitantly than Sasuke. Ryuu stepped out of the way and Sasuke lunged. His form was nearly perfect, as expected, since Sasuke had Itachi for a brother, however, he was letting Naruto seem better than he was. His attacks, even with perfect form, were sloppy and telegraphed. Naruto deflected his first slash, then his second. He ducked under a third, spun around a second, then flipped over a forth. He spun, blocking Sasuke's blade again and they began to push against each other, only for Sasuke to let Naruto fall past him and holding his Vacuum Blade to Naruto's throat. Naruto grit his teeth, slapping the blade away.

"See?" Naruto said. "Sasuke was learning the important shit while I was only being taught to dance around like a coward!"

Everyone went deathly silent as Naruto's eyes widened, Naruto turning to stare at Ryuu in fear.

"I-I'm sorry!" Naruto stammered. "I didn't mean that!"

"Yes, you did," Ryuu said. "And the reason you lost isn't because Sasuke was taught a better style, it's because his brother is Itachi, one of the most skilled kenjutsu masters to ever exist in the Hidden Leaf Village. Sasuke had training before today. And even if he hadn't, you were so hung up on how much better Sasuke's training was than your own, that you didn't use a single one of the techniques I taught you. You didn't parry, you didn't dodge properly, you didn't set your form, or position yourself according to your opponent in order to be able to counter. All you did was bat Sasuke's sword away from yourself out of fear and do everything in your power to not be touched by it. In a real fight, you can't be afraid of being cut, because you probably will." He stepped forward, getting within inches of Naruto. "With swords, you have to be comfortable being this close to someone, too close for them to slash you, but close enough for you to do it."

"But you can't either!" naruto argued.

"Can't I?" Ryuu held his sword sideways at his side and turned, placing the edge against Naruto's abdomen. "You have to be fast, _thinking_ , and precise. But if you're so desperate to learn how to wave your sword around like you're clearing spider webs rather than fighting, then you're welcome to train with someone else. I'll teach Hinata to defend herself instead. At least then someone with half a brain will survive in a fight while you're letting the enemy cut you to ribbons because you're too good to learn to defend yourself."

Naruto stood in stunned silence as Ryuu turned to Lee, who readied himself instantly. As Ryuu walked over to Lee, correcting his form, no one else, besides Fu, moved. Fu walked over to do her own inspection of Lee's form, catching that his sword was a little too high, and not tight enough to his body.

"Well?" Ryuu asked. "Go and train with Yugao. Yugao, Naruto's not to learn anything defensive today. At the end of today, he and Hinata will spar to see if Naruto's satisfied with his preferred style."

Yugao nodded, walking away with Naruto while Kakashi and Sasuke walked away as well, leaving Hinata to walk over and stand beside Lee, trying to copy his position. Fu helped Hinata correct her position and then began to teach Lee from where Ryuu left off, Ryuu teaching Hinata what she had missed. Hinata was naturally flexible and fluid in her movements, allowing her to pick up more advanced techniques faster than Lee or Naruto. Within half the time, she had caught up to Lee. Finally, as the sun began to set, Naruto and Hinata were ordered to spar after Ryuu used a seal to dull their blades, allowing for bruises but not cuts. The fight was brutal, for Naruto. No matter how fast or how powerful a strike he attempted, or from what angle, Hinata was able to defend against, and counter, everything. By the time Naruto decided to try misdirection, he was already covered in bruises. By the time he realized that Ryuu had taught Hinata to ignore misdirection without her Byakugan, he was barely able to stand.

"That's enough," Ryuu said. "So, Naruto, are you satisfied with your training?"

"No," Naruto said miserably, bowing low. "I'm sorry for complaining and for calling you a coward. Please teach me to defend myself."

"I'd love to," Ryuu said. "But I have a mission tomorrow. Sasuke can do it instead. At least until I get back. Now, if you'll excuse me, Fu still owes me a rematch for the last time she and I sparred with blades."

They all cleared out to the edges of the field, watching as Ryuu and Fu turned to face each other, both wearing an emotionless expression, eyes alert and analyzing everything the other did, from every twitch at the end of their blade to every movement of their eyes. Every breath, every shift, every hair blowing in the breeze. As Naruto watched, he barely noticed the two actually start to move. One moment they were staring each other down, the next, they were dancing. At least, it looked like a sort of dance. They moved around each other like water, far closer than he would have expected for a sword fight, yet even at that close of a range, their swords still clashed. He recognized different parries, dodges, and throws that both did as what Ryuu had tried to teach him. He also recognized that Fu was the more offensive of the two.

Fu stepped back, out of their borderline intimate closeness and spun in a blur, slashing at him only for Ryuu to redirect it over his head and slash downward at her. She spun around the blade, getting close to him again and spinning, using the technique Ryuu had used to show Naruto he could attack without needing room to slash. Ryuu, however, flipped over it, placing a hand on Fu's head to support himself before swinging his legs outward and around, making Fu spin and throwing her to the ground, stabbing down at her, only for her to contort, avoiding the blade and wrapping her legs around him, flipping him to the ground and pinning his sword arm. She stabbed at him but he craned his head out of the way before grabbing her and yanking her down, slamming his forehead protector into her forehead then throwing her back. As she stumbled, he flipped to his feet, darting forward and slashing at her abdomen. For a moment, Naruto thought she might actually get hurt, until she spun, dropping into a split with her body lying along her front foot, then shoved off the ground, shooting backward under Ryuu, between his legs, then magically rising to her feet in time to step forward and swipe Ryuu's legs out from under him with her blade, putting the blade to his throat. Ryuu sighed and nodded and Fu smiled, letting the blade fall away as water, soaking him. Then, she pulled him up, Yugao, Sasuke, and Kakashi all clapping as they all walked over.

"Very well done," Kakashi said. "You've both improved. Although, I don't think I've ever seen anyone use a sword quite as...close to their opponent as that. I actually thought you might trip over each other a couple times there."

"Almost did," Ryuu said. "And that's exactly the reason that we practice getting that close. What kenjutsu master that you know of actually knows how to counter that kind of fighting?"

"None," Kakashi said. "Of course, I also don't know many that would be so skilled with a sword that it would be necessary, and yet not also be skilled enough with ninjutsu or something to keep you getting that close."

"I'm sure there's someone," Ryuu said. "Somewhere."

"At any rate, I'm impressed with your progress," Kakashi said.

"As am I," Yugao smiled. "Alright. Everyone head to bed. We've all had a long day and most of you have an early day tomorrow."

They all nodded, scattering to their homes. Ryuu and Fu both changed into a pair of thin pajamas and climbed into bed. Ryuu closed his eyes, praying for a night of rest, rather than a night of nightmares, then lay down, Fu taking her usual spot on his chest.

"Are you okay?" Fu asked. "You've seemed...different, ever since we came back from the Land of the Moon."

Ryuu smiled, nodding and kissed her, staying there for a few moments. "I'm fine. Just a little shaken by what happened still is all."

Fu nodded and settled in for the night, closing her eyes as Ryuu did the same, drifting off to a dreamless sleep.

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	45. Chapter 45

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Idate

Ryuu sat at the table in silence, sipping at his tea. Fu was talking to him about things she thought they should work on in training, more ninjutsu without his Sharingan, Taijutsu, basic speed, and also about ideas for how to make him fly. And he _was_ listening, even if he wasn't actively participating. He was just busy staring at the only other person in the tea shop, who wasn't working there, over her shoulder. The shop was where they were supposed to meet the runner for the race, who would then lead them back to the family hiring them. Except, the runner supposedly hadn't shown up. Ryuu smirked. The runner clearly didn't like shinobi, since he was neglecting his job of meeting them in favor of using a folding knife to whittle at a thin stick and sipping at tea.

He had brown hair in a messy ponytail, black shorts, a dark grey cloak, a wide, flat, straw hat sitting on the table in front of him, a tan fanny pack, a black vest over a three-quarter-sleeved white tee-shirt, off-white leg warmers, black sandals, and an annoyed expression. Finally, he stood, walking toward them.

"Just lounging around in the shade and sipping down tea?" he said. "Man, the shinobi life sure is cushy. You must not see much action in the Hidden Leaf Village."

"More than a race-runner for a noble family would," Ryuu said.

"Not bad, you're sharper than you look," the guy smirked before turning to Fu. "Hello Beautiful. I hope you know I wasn't insulting you. I only meant this lazy slob."

Ryuu smirked as he noticed the irritated light in Fu's eye.

"My name's Idate Morino," the guy smiled, looking fairly charming despite clearly being a cocky prick. "What's your name?"

"Fu," Fu said pleasantly, offering her hand.

Ryuu fought to hold back a smirk as Idate made the mistake of giving her his. Then, she squeezed, Idate shrieking in pain as she literally crushed his bones. Then, her hand glowed green, his hand repairing itself before she released him, Idate leaping away from her, his stance instantly betraying his ninja training.

"So, you're a washout ninja, huh?" Ryuu asked. "Going by your last name, you'd be related to Ibiki Morino, so you're from Konoha. Let me guess, you failed the Chunin Exams and were told you could never be a chunin, so you ran away, right?"

Idate stared at him in shock. "You know Ibiki?"

"He was the proctor of my Chunin Exam's first stage," Ryuu said.

"Oh, so you failed too, huh?" Idate asked.

"Nope," Ryuu said. "I passed with flying colors. It was easy."

"Excuse me?" Idate snarled. "My brother...passed _you_? _You_? Well that's just great. I'm glad you guys are such great friends."

"Friends?" Ryuu snorted. "Have you met Ibiki? That man has no friends. That man has torture toys."

Idate snarled angrily. "You don't know anything! You can't judge me!"

"Okay, fine," Ryuu said. "I won't judge you, if you don't hit on Fu again. Deal?"

Idate blinked in surprise. "What, that's it? That's the only thing you have a problem with is me hitting on your friend?"

"Girlfriend," Fu corrected.

"Oh I see," Idate smirked. "Whatever. Anyway, I'm going to wait outside."

Ryuu sighed, he and Fu taking a sip of their tea before looking back, seeing that Idate was gone. Ryuu stood, looking out the window and seeing the speck that was Idate disappearing down a trail into the woods in the distance. He smirked.

"Fast kid," Ryuu said. "Ma'am, the money's on the table. We gotta get going."

He and Fu stepped outside, sprinting down the trail after Idate. After about two minutes, they caught up with him as he finished a spectacular trip, crashing to the ground, his folding knife getting stuck in a hollow spot on a tree. Ryuu grabbed it before landing beside Idate.

"Hello again," Ryuu said. "Need a hand?"

Idate slapped his hand away, pushing himself up. Ryuu held out the knife and Idate snatched it away instantly.

"Hands off!" Idate shouted. "This belongs to me!"

He tucked it into his shirt before kneeling and unclipping the leg warmers around his legs, holding them up to reveal them as weights. Ryuu released a bark of laughter.

"On your mark," Idate said, Ryuu crouching and preparing to sprint, Fu doing the same. "Get set...go!"

He dropped the weights, the weights cratering the ground and Ryuu and Fu were off like a shot, each grabbing a weight and slinging them over their shoulders, seeing Idate in the distance, getting away. Ryuu smirked, pushing himself faster, enjoying the challenge of actually struggling to keep up with someone other than Lee or Fu. However, by the time they had reached the Wasabi family's estate, they were still a hundred meters behind him. They slowed to a stop, panting, and Idate smirked at them.

"If that's all you've got, you're going to be useless during the race," Idate smirked.

"Relax," Ryuu said. "You're not the only one who uses weights."

Idate huffed, taking his weights back from Ryuu and Fu and walking inside, Ryuu and Fu following, Idate leading them to Jirocho Wasabi, leader of the Wasabi family, and the man who had hired them.

"Welcome," Jirocho greeted them. "My name is Jirocho. I'm grateful that you accepted my request."

"Of course," Ryuu nodded. "We'd be...honored to escort Idate."

"I know he can be a bit abrasive, but this race really is important to our family," Jirocho said. "And from our reports, the Wagarashi family, our main rivals, have also hired shinobi to escort their runner, and to stop Idate from finishing, by any means necessary."

"Understood," Ryuu nodded. "We'll handle them."

Jirocho nodded. "The race begins at sunrise tomorrow. Please rest here for tonight."

"We'd be honored," Ryuu bowed.

Jirocho motioned to Idate who nodded and led them away. Ryuu and Fu followed Idate until they reached the room they'd be staying in. Then, they both changed into pajamas and lay down, Ryuu pulling the blanket up over them, both drifting off to sleep.

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	46. Chapter 46

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Sea Battle

Ryuu followed Idate and fought to ignore his eye twitching, or the vein popping out of his forehead. Not only was the opponent already sailing across the bay, but they _weren't_ because Idate had decided to _intentionally_ run along the shoreline at the start of the race. Finally, Ryuu caught up to Idate as they passed a large hollow tree with a gap in the trunk. As they continued running, Ryuu sensed something shift in the air. He activated his Sharingan and the forest melted away to a cliff path with bamboo trees on the left and a fatal fall on the right. He glanced back and Fu nodded, letting him know she had seen through it too.

"Idate," Ryuu said. "What do you see right now?"

"A forest path," Idate said. "Why?"

"Because we're on a mountain pass," Ryuu said. "There's a cliff about two inches to your right."

He set his hand on Idate's shoulder, using his chakra to disrupt the genjutsu and Idate shouted in surprise, putting a little more distance between himself and the cliff's edge. A moment later, they turned a corner in the path, following the cliff path another few minutes before reaching a forest. A few minutes later, they reached a beach. There was a ship waiting, and Idate ran over to a house nearby, speaking with an elderly man that lived there before nodding to Ryuu and Fu. They all climbed onto the boat and Ryuu used a Wind Style, Breakthrough to fill the sails, shoving them out to sea and getting them moving.

"Care to explain why we're here?" Ryuu asked.

"When the gate opened, the clouds were moving toward us," Idate said as Ryuu and Fu worked the rigging, with some help from a couple of Ryuu's clones. "That meant that if we had gone that way, the wind would have slowed us down. However, here, the wind won't be as bad, and there's also a current that flows the way we want to go."

"I see," Ryuu nodded. "Smart. I can see why the Wasabi chose you."

"Thanks," Idate smiled. "You're not half bad yourself. Thanks for breaking that genjutsu earlier. That might have been nasty."

Ryuu nodded, he and Fu finishing their work and leaning against the railing beside Idate. "So, tell us your story."

"It's like you said," Idate said. "My brother, Ibiki, failed me and barred me from ever being a chunin. But then, there was a chunin, a ninja by the name of Aoi, who told me that there was a way I could make chunin without the test."

"Combat," Ryuu guessed.

"Even easier," Idate said. "He said there was a relic that was under heavy guard. If I could steal it, he said I'd be made chunin."

"Sounds like the time Mizuki convinced my friend Naruto to steal the First Hokage's Scroll of Sealing to be made a genin after he failed the graduation exam," Ryuu said.

"Well, that's more acceptable since he was a child," Idate said. "Aoi convinced me to steal the Second Hokage's Blade of the Thunder Spirit. It's a weapon with a vajra as a handle and a blade made of pure lightning style chakra that comes out of it. I believed Aoi, because he had been nice to me. So, I stole it. But then Aoi told me that he was leaving the village, going rogue. And that since I stole a prized treasure of the village, I would be arrested. So I ran. Eventually, I met Boss Jirocho when I tried to steal from him and he beat me for it. Then, he gave me a job and my knife as repayment."

"He's a good man," Ryuu said, looking around just in time to see the other ship coming. "Company."

He activated his Sharingan, his eyes easily picking out two shinobi, both wearing off-white full-body suits with breather masks identifying them as Hidden Rain shinobi, along with cloths over their eyes. One had a bandanna-style forehead protector and one eyehole cut in his cloth, and the other had his brown hair left messy, both eyes covered.

"Hidden Rain," Ryuu reported.

Suddenly, one of the two summoned a third, this one with even messier hair and both of his eyes exposed.

"Three of them," Ryuu said. "Full team."

"Can you handle them?" Idate asked.

"I'm not sensing much chakra from them so...yeah," Ryuu said. "Piece of cake."

Idate nodded as Ryuu climbed onto the railing of their ship, forming hand seals.

"Water Style, Exploding Water Shockwave!" Ryuu shouted before exhaling a massive flood of water, successfully forcing the other ship to turn, keeping it at a distance before turning it more, making it start to said away quickly. "There, that should piss them off pretty effectively."

"When did you learn that?" Fu asked.

"You're not there every time I train," Ryuu smiled, wiping some sweat from his forehead, just under his forehead protector. "That one's exhausting though."

"It bought us a few minutes though," Idate said as the other boat struggled to turn back toward them.

Suddenly, it began to rain. Ryuu smirked as clones began to climb over the sides of the ship. He began to raise his hand to grab his Tanto but stopped, staring at the thick black liquid soaking his hand.

"Oil," Ryuu snarled. "Fu, no fire."

Fu nodded and Ryuu switched to drawing a pair of kunai, darting forward and beginning to slash the clones, all of them falling away as water when hit.

"Not bad, not bad at all," Ryuu grinned. "That's actually a decent number of water clones."

"Look out!" Fu shouted.

Ryuu spun just as a flaming crossbow bolt stuck into the deck, igniting the oil instantly, flames racing over the deck. Ryuu swore, sprinting to Fu and Idate, grabbing them both and leaping into the air, Fu taking the hint and spreading her wings, flying high into the air, using the smoke as cover, then taking off toward the port, Ryuu holding a hand over Idate's mouth to keep him quiet.

"Short version, Fu can fly, we're going to win this race," Ryuu said.

Idate nodded and Ryuu uncovered his mouth.

"Fu, set us down just on shore," Ryuu said. "We can run from there."

Fu nodded, flying in silence until they reached land, setting them down on the rocks at the shore. She let her wings fade and sighed, sitting down and wiping her forehead.

"You okay?" Ryuu asked.

"The fire dried out my wings a little more than I expected," Fu said. "I'll be fine in a minute."

Ryuu nodded, also sitting down. "You might as well rest too, Idate. We've got a good lead, now."

Idate nodded, sitting down as well. They all settled in to rest for a few minutes, hoping it would be enough.

* * *

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	47. Chapter 47

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Twin Swords

Ryuu narrowed his eyes as he watched the shinobi standing before him. The shinobi had short green hair, an Amegakure headband, a sleeveless wetsuit with black down the middle of the front and back with light purple down the sides, an umbrella on his back, a black forearm sleeve on his right arm and a black glove on his left, black sandals, and a tool pouch behind him. The enemy shinobi smirked as the three Ame genin from earlier grew out of the ground alongside him, Fu stepping up beside Ryuu, Idate behind them.

"So, you must be Aoi, then," Ryuu said.

"Not bad," Aoi nodded. "And these are my subordinates. Oboro, Kagari, and Mubi."

Ryuu nodded to the genin before turning back to Aoi. Behind Aoi and the genin, Rokusuke's ship landed and he took off running toward the shrine. Ryuu rolled his eyes.

"Fu, handle the genin," Ryuu said. "Then get Idate past Aoi and get him moving again."

"Right," Fu nodded.

"Oh, so the tough guy wants to fight me all by himself, does he?" Aoi smirked. "Alright, fine. Try this!"

He hurled several senbon, Ryuu drawing a kunai and deflecting them all easily.

"I should warn you, I've fought stronger than you before," Ryuu said. "You're not going to be as effective against me as you think."

"We'll just see about that," Aoi snarled.

Suddenly, lightning flashed overhead, accompanied by a massive crash of thunder. Then, rain began to pound down around them, the Ame genin chuckling as they began to spread out. Ryuu looked around, seeing a large flat chunk of rock a short distance out into the water. He motioned for Aoi to follow and ran to it, Aoi keeping pace with him, both skidding to a stop. As they reached the stone, Aoi hurled his umbrella into the sky, the umbrella unleashing a barrage of senbon as it spun. Ryuu formed several hand seals and exhaled a Breakthrough into the cloud of senbon, blowing them away harmlessly, destroying the umbrella. Aoi huffed, pulling a vajra out of his tool pouch and extending a golden blade made of Lightning Style chakra. Ryuu smirked, drawing his tanto. He charged, slashing at Aoi with chakra streaming along his tanto, only for Aoi to block the blade, electricity shooting over Ryuu's body and hurling him backward. He flipped, landing on the water, then leapt into the air as Aoi stabbed the water, lightning flying out across its surface, dead fish floating to the surface for hundreds of yards. Ryuu flipped, landing on the stone platform again, breathing hard.

"Not bad," Aoi smirked. "You're quick. And you're a lot tougher than I expected. That shock would have knocked most people out."

"Alright, try this!" Ryuu shouted, exhaling a Vacuum Blade onto his tanto and sprinting forward.

He slashed at Aoi and Aoi slashed as well. Except, when their blades met, there was a moment of resistance before the Blade of the Thunder Spirit cut through Ryuu's Vacuum Blade just above the end of the tanto blade, then sliced a gash into Ryuu's chest, electrocuting him as it did and hurling him backward. Just as he landed, an explosion sent waves shooting along the water and Idate took off along the path away from shore, the three Ame genin trying to follow, only for Fu to appear in the way, smashing them all backward. Ryuu turned back to Aoi, sheathing his Tanto.

"So, what kind of jutsu do you want to try next hotshot?" Aoi asked. "This sword can cut through anything. Even chakra."

"Fire Style, Giant Fireball Jutsu!" Ryuu shouted, exhaling a massive ball of fire at Aoi experimentally.

Aoi smirked, slashing upward as the fireball reached him, then back downward, slashing the fireball in half, both halves exploding behind him harmlessly.

"Well alright then," Ryuu smirked. "Guess I finally found that one person Kakashi."

Ryuu drew his tanto again, exhaling a Vacuum Blade onto it and shooting forward. As Aoi slashed at him, Ryuu ducked to the side, escaping the blow and standing mere inches from Aoi, splitting his side open. Aoi shouted in pain as Ryuu activated his Sharingan, stepping around behind Aoi but keeping close then spinning. As Aoi, expecting Ryuu to have tried to put distance between them after his attack, spun, Ryuu caught the back of his elbow, stopping his slash before leaning back and slashing upward, splitting the back of Aoi's shoulder open as Aoi leapt away, forcing him to drop the Blade of the Thunder Spirit, which Ryuu caught. He tucked it into his own ninja tool pouch, letting his Vacuum Blade fade and sheathing his tanto, preparing himself for a Taijutsu fight, Aoi doing the same, his injured arm seeming unable to fully form a fist.

"Let's see how you do without your favorite toy," Ryuu said.

Aoi darted forward, using his wounded arm to block Ryuu's punch before slamming his own into Ryuu's jaw, moving faster than Ryuu expected. Ryuu staggered backward, turning, and Aoi slammed a kick into his gut. As Ryuu staggered away from the kick, Aoi yanked his tanto out of its sheath, holding it in reverse grip and spinning to slash Ryuu across the stomach. Ryuu drew his trench knife, blocking the blade and shoving it upward, splitting Aoi's abdomen open, then slamming his own kick into Aoi's ribs, launching him back to shore before catching his tanto and putting it away. He followed Aoi, drawing a kunai in his left hand, and Aoi stood, holding his injured arm to his abdomen, backing away from Ryuu.

"Time to finish this fight," Ryuu said, putting the knives away. "It'll take three seconds. Ready? One..." He darted forward, slipping under a punch. "Two..." he slammed his hand into Aoi's chest, placing a gravity seal at ten times Aoi's normal weight, sending him crashing to the ground. "Three." He placed a paralysis seal on Aoi that grew more powerful the harder Aoi tried to move in order to break it, effectively making it impossible for him to move.

Once finished, Ryuu stepped back, smirking at Aoi before looking to the side, seeing the three Ame genin tied up off to the side of the path. He walked over, placing a paralysis seal on them too before removing the gravity seal on Aoi. Then, he left a clone to watch the four of them and took off along the path again. After about an hour of not catching up to anyone, including running past the halfway mark, Ryuu released his gravity seals, streaking along the path rapidly. Then, finally, after another half hour, he caught up to Idate and Fu just after a rope bridge, reapplying his gravity seals.

"You're actually really fast," Idate said. "Impressive."

"Like I said, you're not the only one who trains with weights," Ryuu said. "Aoi and his genin are being watched by one of my clones. They shouldn't be going anywhere, though."

Fu nodded and they all continued to run in silence. As they turned around a corner onto a straight away, Ryuu saw Rokusuke up ahead, managing to maintain his lead.

"Why are we in back?" Ryuu asked. "Let's go Idate, get a move on!"

Idate growled in annoyance, picking up the pace, slowly gaining on him. Then, suddenly, Ryuu skidded to a stop, swearing harshly and spinning, drawing his tanto in time to block a katana blade. Fu spun as well, shouting for Idate to keep running. Idate did just that as Ryuu leapt backward, landing beside Fu and watching as Mhao smirked, resting his katana, identical to his last one, on his shoulder, Aoi stepping up beside him with one that looked nearly identical, except with a gold grip rather than blue.

"Mhao," Ryuu snarled. "How?"

"I told you we'd meet again," Mhao grinned. "I hope you didn't forget me."

He lowered his sword to his side, blue flames springing to life along the blade, Aoi's blade lighting up with electricity.

"Fu, can you handle Aoi?" Ryuu asked.

"Easily," Fu nodded. "You settle things with this freak."

Ryuu nodded and charged. As he met Mhao, he slashed, Mhao blocking it before Ryuu launched pure Wind Style chakra out of his foot, blasting him forward, shoving Mhao backward along the path for several hundred meters before Mhao dug his feet in, skidding to a stop. Then, Mhao shoved Ryuu's tanto upward and slashed at him, Ryuu darting sideways out of the path of Mhao's blade. Mhao spun, slashing at Ryuu, who leapt backward, an arc of blue flames following. Ryuu leapt into the air over the flames, watching them explode against several trees, igniting them as well, then landed on his feet, slashing twice, sending two arcs of flame at Mhao. Mhao slashed his own sword twice, their flames meeting in the middle and exploding. Then, Mhao burst out of the smoke, slashing at Ryuu only for Ryuu to erupt into a fireball, blasting Mhao backward into a tree. He growled angrily, pushing himself up and looking around, finding Ryuu standing on the side of a tree, watching him.

"I hope you didn't forget me," Ryuu said. "Otherwise, this fight will play out no differently than before."

Mhao snarled in rage as Ryuu slashed, sending out an arc of flame and vanishing, reappearing a short distance behind Mhao and firing another. Mhao leapt over the strikes, the flames meeting and exploding, blasting Mhao higher into the air. Then, Ryuu appeared over Mhao, spinning.

"Leaf Hurricane!" Ryuu shouted, slamming his foot into Mhao and sending him blasting into the ground, shattering it.

Mhao stood, slashing upward and sending a massive wall of flames at Ryuu. Ryuu shouted in pain before exploding into smoke, Mhao's jaw dropping.

"Hidden Waterfall Hurricane!" Ryuu shouted from above Mhao, a pair of clones holding his feet and firing Gale Palms to send him streaking downward, Ryuu's fist crashing into Mhao, blasting him into the ground again. Then, Ryuu leapt backward, forming hand seals. "Fire Style, Dragon Flame Bomb!"

The stream of flames shot out of his mouth at Mhao, only for Mhao to slash it, the flames dispersing in a wave heading for Ryuu. Then, Fu grabbed him, yanking him out of the way as she flew to the ground, a blue fireball just barely missing them. Ryuu growled in annoyance as Mhao stood, Aoi appearing beside him, smirking.

"That sword gives him a huge power boost," Fu said. "This will be a pain in the neck."

"Try this!" Mhao snarled, the flames on his sword shooting into the air. "Fire Style, Uroboros!"

Ryuu swore, grabbing Fu and using the Body Flicker Technique to dodge aside as a massive blue snake made of flames erupted out of Mhao's sword as he slashed, a piercing shriek filling the air as it began to rampage around, leaving a trail of ash in its wake.

"What the hell is that thing?" Fu gaped.

"It's an exceedingly nasty Fire Style Jutsu," Ryuu said as Fu launched a powerful stream of water at it, the water evaporating on contact and not seeming to hurt it at all.

Finally, the snake stopped, hissing as it watched them, the ground around it beginning to smoke.

"It's like living fire, and the more it consumes, the more powerful it grows," Ryuu said. "Which is a problem because it can consume almost anything. Even its own flames."

"How do we defend against something like that?" Fu asked. "Kill Mhao?"

"No," Ryuu said. "It's self-sustaining once formed. However, when Yugao and Kakashi taught me about this jutsu, they also taught me a way to beat it."

"How?" Fu asked.

"Hold your breath and plug your nose," Ryuu said. "This is going to hurt, a lot."

Fu did as instructed and Ryuu formed several hand seals before holding his hands out to his sides.

"Wind Style, Vacuum Lock!"

All at once, Fu felt like she was being pulled in every direction. She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting to ignore the utter agony she was feeling. Every cell in her body seemed to be on fire. The seconds ticked by. One...two...five...ten. Finally, it ended and Fu fell to her knees, gasping for breath, tears of pain running down her cheeks. She looked up and around, finding Ryuu lying on the ground, blood running out of his eyes, nose, and mouth. She shouted in fear, beginning to heal him instantly.

"Sorry," Ryuu said. "No...oxygen...no fire."

Fu looked around, realizing that the snake had been extinguished. It had worked. Though, it clearly wasn't a pleasant jutsu. She turned her eyes to Mhao and Aoi, who were struggling to pick themselves up off the ground, only barely faring better than Ryuu. Finally, they were on their feet and Fu stepped back from Ryuu, who pushed himself up unsteadily.

"I'm tired of this fight," Ryuu said, not even able to keep his Sharingan active now. "Mhao, let's finish this."

Mhao streaked toward him, but just as Mhao slashed, Ryuu's legs gave out, Ryuu falling backward, avoiding the slash. Then, as Mhao tripped over Ryuu's feet, Ryuu placed a hand to his chest. Suddenly, a massive glowing red seal shot across Mhao's body, Mhao screaming in pain as he crashed to the ground, clutching his sides. Fu shot forward, slipping under a slash from Aoi, drawing her own tanto and standing so close to him that she was actually pressing against him. He moved to leap backward and she jumped with him. Then, as he grabbed her by the throat to force some distance between them, a Water Blade sprouted from his chest, impaling her as well, only for her to explode into a cloud of smoke. He looked back to see the real Fu standing below him before falling limp. Then, she threw his body aside, picking up his sword and channeling chakra into her knee, snapping the blade of the sword over it. Then, she walked over to Mhao and Ryuu as Ryuu stood, forming the Seal of Confrontation. The seal, three rings of seal script wrapping around his torso, suddenly flashed and faded, his body falling apart with the lines the script had occupied as the cuts. Ryuu sighed, falling against Fu, who supported him for a moment before picking him up in a piggyback and beginning to run. As she did, he passed out.

When he woke up again, he was lying on the deck of a ship, Ibiki standing on a ramp and watching Idate carefully, Fu sitting beside Ryuu.

"Big Brother," Idate said.

"Who are you?" Ibiki asked. "The only person who ever called me that died three years ago."

"No, I didn't," Idate said. "I ran away. But I've decided that it's long past time for me to return, and face my punishment for what I did."

Ibiki studied his brother for a few more moments before nodding, turning and walking onto the ship, Idate doing the same. Then, Ibiki returned with a pair of handcuffs, Idate allowing him to put them on.

"Brother, in my shirt on the right side, there's a concealed pocket with a folding knife," Idate said. "Will you hold onto it for me?"

Ibiki nodded, pulling the knife out and staring at it for a moment before slipping it into his pocket. "Helmsman, take us home."

The man steering the ship nodded, spinning the wheel and sailing away from land.

"Did we win?" Ryuu croaked, Fu smiling down at him.

"Idate won by a mile," Fu smiled. "Don't worry. You shouldn't have to stay in the hospital this time. I'll have the damage healed up by the time we get back."

Ryuu nodded, smiling. Then, he closed his eyes, passing out again.

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	48. Chapter 48

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Decisions

Ryuu stepped into Tsunade's office, stopping as he found all of the proctors for the Chunin Exams present, along with Yugao and Shizune, were all present, standing along the wall behind Tsunade's desk. Tsunade herself was seated at the desk, smiling, and Shikamaru was standing in front of the desk. Ryuu stepped up beside Shikamaru, hoping that this was exactly what it looked like.

"Welcome," Tsunade said. "As I'm sure you've guessed, it was the view of many that because the Chunin Exams were interrupted, none of the students should pass this time around. However, I hear that the Third Hokage had nothing but the highest praise for your matches. It seems that he intended to recommend you both for Chunin. In fact, all those who observed the fight, and your proctors, felt the same. So in this case, my opinion doesn't really matter. From this day forth, I hope that you will strive to achieve a level of excellence worthy of that headband. Congratulations. As of this moment, you stand as Chunin."

Shikamaru sighed, and Ryuu smiled, bowing.

"What a drag," Shikamaru muttered as he bowed.

Tsunade pulled a pair of Konoha flak jackets from under her desk and handed them to them, both accepting them with a thank you. Then, the proctors and Shikamaru all left, leaving Shizune, Yugao, and Ryuu. Tsunade motioned for Shizune to leave and she did, Ryuu closing the door and placing a seal on it that spread over the walls, floor, and ceiling, trapping all sounds inside of the room.

"What's going on?" Tsunade asked.

"Have you been informed about Kabuto Yakushi yet?" Ryuu asked.

"What about that brat?" Tsunade asked. "He gave us a hell of a time when we were fighting Orochimaru. He was using a Chakra Scalpel to disable my arms and legs, same with Naruto."

"Did he fatally wound anyone?" Ryuu asked.

"No, why?" Tsunade asked.

"Good," Ryuu sighed. "There's something...well, quite a bit, we need to discuss."

"Like what?" Tsunade asked.

"He's on our side," Ryuu said, Tsunade scoffing instantly.

"Could have fooled me," Tsunade said. "He was attacking us."

"No, he was disabling you," Ryuu said. "You're the best Medical Ninja in the world. You can heal a few severed muscles no problem. The fact of the matter is, I figured out that Kabuto was a spy for Orochimaru during the Chunin exams, and he explained to me that he had been a spy for Danzo Shimura before that, fact check with Danzo if you like but he'll probably deny it. Kabuto was recruited into Root out of the Konoha Orphanage that used to be here and used to be run by Mother Nono, another of Danzo's spies who he later sent to kill Kabuto. He also had Orochimaru on standby to kill the survivor, but Orochimaru took a liking to Kabuto due to his skill with Medical Ninjutsu. So, Orochimaru took advantage of Kabuto being vulnerable emotionally and mentally after being forced to kill his adoptive mother, and turned him against the leaf, making him his own right hand. Kabuto then spied for Orochimaru until the final round of the Chunin Exams."

"What happened then?" Tsunade asked.

"I reminded him who he really is, and brought him back to himself," Ryuu said. "However, he couldn't leave Orochimaru just yet without Orochimaru killing him, and because there were a number of tests he had to sabotage and some of Orochimaru's experiment subjects to protect. So he continued to play along with Orochimaru. That's why he had to fight you but didn't try to kill you."

"And I'm supposed to just take the word of some child?" Tsunade asked. "I'm supposed to trust a confessed traitor and spy?"

"Yes," Ryuu said.

"Lady Tsunade, if I may, Ryuu is much more attentive and intelligent than his pears, Shikamaru being the only one smarter than him," Yugao interjected. "I believe that if Ryuu says Kabuto is on our side, then he may be right."

"Well did Kabuto say he would help us in anyway?" Tsunade asked.

"He told me a few things that we might be able to use to find Orochimaru," Ryuu said. "For one thing, he mentioned a village in the Land of Rice Paddies. Oh, and he said that Orochimaru plans to try and take control of Sasuke's body using the Curse Mark."

"I see," Tsunade nodded. "We had suspicions that that was his plan. Have you told Sasuke?"

"Not yet," Ryuu said. "Lady Tsunade, we may never have an opportunity like this again."

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked.

"Well, according to Kabuto, there's only a small window during which Orochimaru can actually possess Sasuke," Ryuu said. "If he misses that window, he'll have to wait three years."

"Okay," Tsunade nodded. "I'm not seeing how this is an opportunity."

"Allow me to explain," Ryuu said. "I'm sure Orochimaru will be sending some of his top servants to collect Sasuke. If we can delay them long enough for Orochimaru to miss that window, Sasuke will have three years during which he can train under Orochimaru, becoming ten times stronger than he could here. Then, when he's strong enough, and when Orochimaru is weak from needing to change bodies, he can capture Orochimaru. Or, if you would prefer, he can send us his location in secret, and we can track down Orochimaru and attempt to capture him. However, as I'm sure you are aware, capturing Orochimaru wouldn't be easy, and he'd also know that Sasuke was a traitor, and likely kill him."

"He has a point, Lady Tsunade," Yugao said. "While I know that capturing Orochimaru may allow us to extract more information, there's no guarantee that we _could_ capture him. But if Sasuke were to train under him for three years, and then kill him, it may actually be the better of the two options."

"There's also the problem of the Akatsuki," Ryuu said.

"How do you know about the Akatsuki?" Tsunade asked.

"I don't know much about them," Ryuu said. "I more only know _of_ them. I'm dating a Jinchuriki, so Shibuki, the leader of the Village Hidden in the Waterfall, who agreed to transfer Fu to our village, thought I should be aware of the biggest threat to Fu, so he told me that the Akatsuki is a mercenary group with plans to collect the Tailed Beasts, though as of yet, it's only a rumor to him and the Akatsuki hasn't made any serious moves."

Tsunade nodded. "And what happens if we can't delay for that long and Sasuke gets possessed?"

"Then that's on me," Ryuu said. "It would be my fault, and one more sin for me to atone for."

Tsunade watched him for a moment before nodding. "Okay. When Orochimaru's henchmen arrive, Sasuke will play along like he wants to go, but will actually be stalling for as much time as he can get. You will hand-pick a team now to help you defeat whoever Orochimaru sends. Then, you will make sure that Sasuke understands the risks and what he has to do."

"Understood," Ryuu nodded.

"One more thing," Tsunade said. "Itachi Uchiha is a part of the Akatsuki. They've been reported to wear black cloaks with red clouds and they had scratched out headbands from their former village."

Ryuu nodded and Tsunade dismissed him. Ryuu left the Hokage's office and headed to the Third Training Ground, where Fu was training Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, Sasuke, and Lee. Ryuu arrived at the training ground and watched them train for a couple of minutes, walking over and stopping them.

"Sasuke, we need to talk," Ryuu said.

Sasuke nodded and they walked a distance away from the others. Once they were out of hearing range and the others had returned to training, Ryuu turned to Sasuke. "You need to go to Orochimaru."

"Why?" Sasuke asked.

"Itachi is a member of the Akatsuki, a group of terrifyingly powerful mercenaries," Ryuu said. "They're also a group who have their sights set on collecting all of the Tailed Beasts."

"But extracting a Tailed Beast would-"

"Kill the Jinchuriki, yes," Ryuu nodded. I'm going to continue training with Fu, but we won't be strong enough. If you go to Orochimaru, he can make you strong enough."

"So I should go now?" Sasuke asked.

"No," Ryuu said. "He doesn't mean to train you. That curse mark on your neck, it's a way for him to take over your body. He intends to possess you. However, Kabuto Yakushi, our man on the inside in Orochimaru's organization, says that there's only a short amount of time where he can possess you before he has to get someone else first. When that time comes, he'll send his best to collect you. Tsunade's orders are for you to act as though you're going willingly, but to stall for time, as much as you can. Your goal is to make sure you miss that window. If you can do that, it'll be three years before Orochimaru can possess you again. Three years to train."

"And when it comes time for me to be possessed again?" Sasuke asked.

"Capture him if you can," Ryuu said. "Kill him if you can't."

Sasuke nodded. "And then we go after Itachi."

"Do you still intend to kill him?" Ryuu asked.

"I don't want revenge," Sasuke said. "After seeing what wanting revenge on Ishidate for almost killing Fu did to you, I don't want to be like that. I want Itachi to explain his actions."

"Good," Ryuu nodded. "But we'll have to fight our way past the Akatsuki, I'm willing to bet."

"I agree," Sasuke nodded. "So you'd better not slack off."

"I have no intention of slacking off," Ryuu said. "One more thing. This entire mission, you going to Orochimaru, any knowledge about the Akatsuki, our plan to track down Itachi, it's all classified as Top Secret. No one can know. Your defection has to look real to everyone but me."

"Who do I have to hospitalize?" Sasuke asked.

"Naruto will chase you down to the ends of the Earth," Ryuu said. "You'll have to fight him. Beat him. Just make sure you miss your window."

Sasuke nodded. "What about you? Fu said you met that guy with the sword again, and that Kabuto had had orders to capture you for Orochimaru during the Hidden Sand's attack on the Leaf."

"Both true," Ryuu said. "But as long as I have Fu protecting me, no one will be able to get to me."

Sasuke chuckled. "Isn't the boyfriend supposed to protect the girlfriend?"

"Let's be honest here, there's no way in Hell Fu would need me to protect her," Ryuu said. "She's stronger than the two of us combined."

Sasuke nodded, smiling. "Alright. When do we start?"

"Soon, I'd bet," Ryuu said.

Just then, a crow above them cawed and Ryuu held his hand out, the crow landing with a note on it leg. He took the note, seeing a storage seal, and released the seal, catching a letter.

"Ryuu, it's time. Orochimaru just sent the Sound Four, an elite group of the Hidden Sound Village, to collect Sasuke and bring him back. The Sound Four all possess Curse Marks with Level One and Level Two completely under their control. They're _DANGEROUS_. Their names are Kidomaru, Jirobo, Tayuya, Sakon and his conjoined twin Ukon, and the leader is Kimimaro. Yes, I know that's five. Kidomaru has six arms and summons spiders. He can create webbing that is incredibly hard and nearly impossible to get unstuck from. Chakra can cut through it, such as the Chakra Scalpel. Jirobo is a physical powerhouse who combines his strength with Earth Style Ninjutsu. Tayuya is an expert in sound-based Genjutsu who uses a flute to control three massive dolls called Doki to fight for her. She is also an excellent strategist. Sakon and Ukon have a Kekkei Genkai that allows Ukon to reside in Sakon's body and to separate from him at will, as well as generate his body parts to guard Sakon's blind spots and to enhance Sakon's strikes by adding his own. They are second in command of the Sound Four. They are incredibly fast and strong, excellent strategists, though less-so than Tayuya, and can summon a Rashomon, a demon gate that can withstand incredible amounts of damage. They have some skill in Fuinjutsu, though I don't know how much. Kimimaro is the leader of the Sound Four, though he has not been sent yet. He will likely be sent soon if Sasuke's delivery takes too long. He is deadly. He excels at combat. His Taijutsu alone is enough for him to easily defeat all four of the other members alone. He possesses the Kekkei Genkai Shikotsumyaku, which allows one to control their bones as weapons. However, he is terminally ill. Even so, even as close to death as he is, he could still defeat all of the Sound Four if necessary. You personally would have to fight him to defeat him, and even that is questionable. You have maybe a day before they arrive at the Hidden Leaf. If Sasuke cannot be returned within three days, the window will be missed. Also, it's a day-and-a-half journey to our hideout. Good luck."

Ryuu stared at the letter, rereading it again before showing Sasuke. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and read it before handing it back, going over it in his head, nodding. Ryuu formed a clone who took off instantly, taking the letter to Tsunade.

"Okay," Sasuke said. "Three days. That's going to be a very long fight."

"Wrong," Ryuu said. "We just need the fighting to last two days. Not a hard call since there are actually five of them."

"Good point," Sasuke nodded. "We can do this. We need to pick a team, though."

"Already done," Ryuu said. "My clone will be telling Tsunade the teams now. As well as asking permission."

"Permission for what?" Sasuke asked, looking to Ryuu before sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose. "You're joking, right? You want to try to save some of them? Isn't that Naruto's thing?"

"I saved Kabuto, and he was practically worse than Orochimaru," Ryuu said. "You never know. It could happen."

Sasuke was silent for a time before sighing and nodding. "Okay. Okay. You do whatever you want. Anyway, I have to get back to training."

"Right," Ryuu nodded. "Shall we?"

Sasuke snorted and nodded, the two of them walking over to the others, Ryuu stepping up beside Fu and smiling before turning to the others, face serious as he scanned them. He had chosen his team correctly, he felt. He hoped.

* * *

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	49. Chapter 49

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Begun

Ryuu opened his eyes as the pounding on his front door continued. He pulled the blankets off of himself, standing and pulling his shirt on, Fu looking up at him just as they pounded again.

"Ryuu! Wake up!"

It was Naruto. Ryuu sighed, changing into a pair of black pants, a long-sleeved black shirt, his flak jacket with his tanto attached to the back, and his forehead protector. He took a long, slow breath, then turned to Fu, who knelt on the edge of the bed, wearing only her underwear. She kissed him softly, holding him there for a moment before he pulled back, smiling.

"Be careful," Fu said. "And when you get back, it had better not be in the hospital."

"It won't be," Ryuu said. "I'm sick of that building. I'm not going anywhere near it."

Fu nodded, smiling, and kissed him again as Naruto began to pound on his front door again. Finally, Ryuu pulled away and turned, walking out of his room and to the front door, opening it and finding his team assembled. He pulled his sandals on as Shikamaru spoke.

"You look like you're ready for a fight," Shikamaru said.

"Would you all be here, and be pounding on my door so urgently, if we weren't?" Ryuu asked, knowing full well that Shikamaru had had the truth explained to him from Tsunade. "So, what's up?"

"Sasuke took off to go and train with Orochimaru," Naruto said. There's been a report of there being four Hidden Sound Village ninja escorting him, each at least Jonin level."

"Above, if I had to guess," Ryuu said, standing and walking past them out of the house. "Who's in charge of the recovery mission?"

"You are," Shikamaru said.

"Good," Ryuu nodded. "Do we have a report on the Sound Village ninja?"

"Yes," Shikamaru said, handing him a stack of four folders.

He took them, opening them and seeing it had all of the information Kabuto had given them in an official-looking format, though there were no pictures. He leafed through them.

"We need to go now!" Naruto snapped, slapping the folders out of Ryuu's hands just as Ryuu had closed the last one. "Fuck the folders! We need to get Sasuke!"

"Relax," Ryuu said. "Sasuke wouldn't go willingly."

"He _did_ go willingly!" Naruto shouted. "That's what we've been saying."

Ryuu nodded, remaining silent for a moment as he looked at them all. Neji, Shikamaru, Naruto, Kiba, himself, Choji, Sai, and Shin.

"Choji, you're the best powerhouse we have besides myself," Ryuu said. "You'll handle Jirobo, their powerhouse."

"Wait, we're not going to use any special plans?" Shikamaru gaped.

"If we can, yes," Ryuu said. "But my best guess is that they're crunched for time, so they'll leave behind individual members of their team as a delaying tactic. If that's the case, Sasuke is our priority. So we have no choice but to do the same. If we _do_ end up splitting up, Choji, you handle Jirobo. Neji, you handle Kidomaru, the spider-looking guy. Kiba, Akamaru, and Shin will handle Sakon and Ukon, remember, they have a Kekkei Genkai that allows them to merge bodies. You're not fighting only one of them, it's two. Shikamaru, you're the best strategist, so you'll fight their strategist, Tayuya. Sai, myself, and Naruto will deal with Sasuke as needed."

"Great, can we go now?" Naruto asked.

Ryuu nodded and they all took off at a sprint, leaving the village. As they ran, Shin began to cough, falling back a bit before catching back up, wiping blood on his pants. Ryuu dropped back beside him with Sai.

"Are you okay?" Ryuu asked.

"Not really," Shin said. "I'm sick. There's nothing that can be done for it. It's not important."

"Have Tsunade take a look at you when we get back," Ryuu said.

"No, really, it's fine," Shin smiled before dropping his voice. "Besides, we're Root ANBU. We're to be forced to fight each other to the death to kill our emotions off once we get back."

"Yeah fuck that," Ryuu said. "When we get back, I'm having Tsunade get you out of Root. And arrest Danzo."

Shin smiled, shaking his head. "It's fine, really."

"No," Ryuu said. "It's not."

Then, Ryuu moved back up to the front, looking to Shikamaru who gave him a knowing and stern look.

"What do we do if he's stronger than we expect?" Shikamaru asked, Ryuu knowing he meant Kimimaro.

"Leave that to me and Sai," Ryuu said. "We'll handle him."

Shikamaru sighed, nodding. Ryuu thought of something and turned to the others, effectively running backward.

"By the way," Ryuu said. "These are Orochimaru's top henchmen, right?"

"Some of them," Shikamaru nodded, dreading what Ryuu was thinking.

"Good," Ryuu nodded. "I don't expect much, but if there is any way at all that you can capture even one alive, do so. Sakon and Ukon would have the most helpful intel, being the leaders, but since they're also the most deadly, I sincerely doubt they'll be captured alive. Shikamaru, you're the best bet to catch one alive. And Tayuya is smart, so she'll probably have a lot of useful intel."

Shikamaru groaned but nodded. "I'll see what I can do, but there's no guarantee any of us will even win our fights."

"Oh we'll win," Ryuu smirked. "Let's pick up the pace. We don't want them getting away with our friend."

* * *

Ryuu huffed, staring up at the sealing tag. First he sensed their friends from the Hidden Sound getting into a fight, then they run into a perimeter barrier. Lovely. "Neji, how far around?"

"Just a moment," Neji said, scanning the forest. "Not too far. Five hundred meters to the left."

"Let's go," Ryuu said, taking off again.

As they ran, they kept on the alert for more traps. Shikamaru had been right when he said that the Sound Four would be on high alert and would be leaving traps. Not long after the perimeter barrier they found tripwires. After about ten minutes, Shikamaru suddenly caught Naruto less than a second before he set his foot down, using Choji's scarf to hold himself up and pull himself back. Ryuu looked where Naruto was stepping and saw why. There was a second layer of tripwires. While the first layer were hastily and sloppily laid to catch the light, the second layer was camouflaged and in the shadow of the other, hiding them. He was amazed he didn't pick it up.

"They're clever," Neji said.

"They may have stopped to rest, and are using this to try and help them do it more safely," Ryuu said. "Unless someone's injured. Neji."

"Right," Neji nodded, activating his Byakugan and looking ahead. "I see them."

"Sasuke?" Ryuu asked.

"I don't see him," Neji said. "But there's a container with them, big enough for a body, and with sealing jutsus all over it."

"That's probably him," Ryuu said. _So much for stalling for time._ "Let's go. And be careful about it. We need to make sure there are no other traps, and that we don't alert them to our presence too soon."

They all nodded, spreading out through the trees, keeping silent. However, as they were sneaking closer, Ryuu activated his Sharingan, stopping as he saw chakra flowing through a spiderweb to his right.

"Oh shit!" Ryuu growled.

No sooner had he realized their mistake did a massive explosion go off to his right, sending Shikamaru and Neji flying out of the trees. Ryuu used the Body Flicker Technique to get to the edge of the explosion, where they wouldn't be looking, and watched what was happening. As he watched, he looked down, seeing webbing attached to his feet. He swore, forming a chakra scalpel and cutting himself free, glad that Kabuto was right about the chakra scalpel.

"When?" Ryuu breathed before it clicked.

The tripwires had had a third layer, webbing. He watched as Kidomaru yanked his hand, pulling all of the others into the clearing. Kiba hurled a smoke bomb, but Kidomaru kept the webbing moving and high in the air, keeping everyone's feet above them until the smoke cleared. Then, Shikamaru caught them with his shadow. However, before he could do anything else, several shuriken flew out of the trees at Shikamaru, forcing him to release them to dodge it, receiving a few cuts.

"Earth Style Barrier, Earth Dome Prison!" Jirobo shouted suddenly, slamming his hands into the ground and forming a dome around Naruto and the others, placing his hands on it and channeling his chakra through it.

After a moment, Ryuu saw the others' chakra appearing in the dome and flowing into Jirobo. "Yeah, that's not happening."

He appeared beside Jirobo, slashing downward with his tanto and forcing Jirobo to leap away, Sakon giving him the chance to escape by blocking the tanto with a kunai, kicking Ryuu backward. Ryuu flipped, landing on his feet as the side of the dome exploded, the others walking out of it.

"Thanks Ryuu," Shikamaru said. "Now then, we'll be taking Sasuke with us."

"I'm thinking, no," Sakon said, leaping backward.

Just then, a massive chunk of the ground under them broke free, hurling them away from the others. Ryuu flipped, forming several hand seals and placing his hand on the chunk of stone, the stone shattering and flying away from them, allowing them to land safely, finding everyone but Jirobo gone.

"I knew it," Ryuu said. "They're in a rush. Choji, can you handle him?"

"Yeah," Choji nodded. "He's mine."

"Yeah right, kid," Jirobo smirked. "I'm gonna crush all of you!"

Naruto and Kiba leapt at Jirobo and he swatted them both aside with ease. His strength really was immense. However, as soon as he stepped forward, Choji crashed into his side, expanded and spinning like a boulder, blasting him sideways away from the others, all of whom took off after the rest of the Sound Four.

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	50. Chapter 50

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Fifth

Ryuu leapt to the next branch, forcing his mind forward, ignoring the fact that Choji could be dead by now, and Neji was fighting Kidomaru alone, when Kidomaru had caught all of them, literally all of them, within a handful of seconds, then made a bow and arrows out of hardened webbing, picking off Naruto's clones. Fortunately, the real Naruto hadn't been there at that time, but he had swiftly been caught after. Now, it was already dark. They had been chasing the Sound Four for almost a day. They were close to catching them, though. They were just up ahead, by his senses.

"Shikamaru, should we try and fight them now or tomorrow?" Ryuu asked.

"Tomorrow," Shikamaru said. "Right now, my jutsus are useless. We'll just tail them at this distance for now."

Ryuu nodded, settling in for a long run. Time ticked by. Seconds. Minutes. Hours. Finally, the sun rose, getting high enough to give Shikamaru a definite advantage before they moved in. Naruto moved to the front, stopping on a branch behind the two remaining Sound Four members, both of whom had stopped. Then, the others stopped around them, aside from Ryuu and Sai, who hid themselves in the tree above the others.

"When do we strike?" Sai asked using sign language, which he, Sai, and Shin had learned before the Chunin exams, in case they needed it.

"We don't," Ryuu signed back. "We're waiting."

"Why?" Sai signed.

"There's a fifth member," Ryuu responded. "Counting Ukon would make it sixth. Our job is handling them. Even if we can't take Sasuke back, we have to make sure Orochimaru can't take his body now. If he can't we'll have three years to get Sasuke back."

"Do the others know this?" Sai signed.

"Only Shikamaru," Ryuu signed. "It's not important yet. First, we have to deal with the Sound Four."

Sai nodded. As they watched, the others moved in, getting Sakon and Ukon separated from Tayuya. Then, in an impressive series of tricks and misdirection, Naruto managed to get the coffin Sasuke was trapped in. While Ryuu had no intention of Sasuke being returned to the Leaf, him being taken further from Orochimaru's base would definitely help run down the clock. Naruto took off with the coffin, grinning from ear to ear. The others all followed, Ryuu and Sai doing the same from above. Sakon and Tayuya both activated their Curse Marks to catch up and Ryuu smirked. Those had to eat up a lot of chakra. As they began to gain on the others, a series of paper bombs exploded beside Sakon and Ukon, sending a half dozen trees crashing to the ground, only for Sakon to appear off to the side, continuing.

"Don't you mess with me!" Sakon shouted.

Suddenly, as Akamaru was passing an explosive tag, he slipped, falling onto the branch where Sakon pinned him with wire. Kiba moved to help, but just as he landed over Akamaru, the tag exploded. Ryuu sighed in relief, and as the smoke cleared, it revealed Shin on a different tree with Akamaru under one arm and Kiba over his opposite shoulder. He set both down, turning toward Sakon and Ukon, who were on a tree across from them. Sakon and Ukon leapt at them and Shin yanked his hand backward, wires covered in explosive tags wrapping around them in midair.

"Shit!" Sakon shouted.

The tags exploded and Sakon and Ukon fell. Kiba grinned before wire suddenly wrapped around him, Akamaru, and Shin, dragging them after Sakon and Ukon. Ryuu shook his head, biting back a curse as Tayuya leapt for the coffin while Naruto and Shikamaru were distracted. As she got within five feet of it, Ryuu appeared behind it, kicking it as hard as he could and sending it crashing into her face, knocking her backward. Ryuu leaned forward to move to catch it, only for a blur to streak past, taking the coffin. Ryuu blinked, activating his Sharingan as Kimimaro landed on a branch behind the one where Tayuya had landed. He wore black pants and sandals, a light purple shirt with a strip hanging down to his shins in the front and back, a purple rope belt, silver-white hair, had two red dots on his forehead, and had a thin-armed curse mark between his collar bones.

"You were taking too long Tayuya," Kimimaro said.

"Shikamaru, remember what I said," Ryuu said. "Capture her alive if you can. Naruto, you focus on getting Sasuke. Leave him to me and Sai."

"Right," Naruto nodded.

They all leapt off of their branch, Tayuya spinning toward them, eyes wide, only to recover and leap up to stop them. However, Shikamaru landed short, catching her shadow just before she could jump to intercept the other three, allowing them to pass and chase after Kimimaro. Finally, they reached a break in the trees, finding Kimimaro waiting in the center of the massive clearing. The three of them landed lightly just as the coffin exploded, Sasuke landing on his feet, glancing at Ryuu. In that instant, as their Sharingan met, time seemed to halt. Sasuke stood, though Ryuu knew it was only genjutsu.

"How long do I have to stall?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm not sure," Ryuu said. "It's been a day and a half. I'd say fight Naruto until dark then take your time reaching Orochimaru. In the mean time, I'm going to get my ass kicked by Kimimaro."

"Understood," Sasuke nodded.

Then, Ryuu blinked and Sasuke was crouched again. He whipped his head away, turning and sprinting away from them.

"Go Naruto," Ryuu said.

Naruto took off at a sprint and Kimimaro moved to intercept him, only for Ryuu to appear in front of him, catching Kimimaro's punch and hurling him away from Naruto, allowing Naruto to pass. Kimimaro landed on his feet, watching Ryuu as Sai walked over to stand beside him. Then, Kimimaro extended a bone spike from each palm, Sai staring at it in shock.

"Shikotsumyaku," Ryuu said. "Bone control. Be careful. He's lethal!" Ryuu accented his statement by hurling a dozen shuriken.

As they reached Kimimaro, he slashed them all out of the air, all of the shuriken having been cut perfectly in half by the obviously far harder and sharper bone blade. Ryuu sighed. He couldn't use his tanto.

"Here," Sai said, unsealing a tipless tanto from a scroll and handing it to Ryuu. "I know you don't want yours damaged.

Ryuu smiled, drawing his own tanto and sealing it away before tucking the scroll in his ninja tool pouch, then streamed his chakra through the tanto Sai had loaned him, Sai doing the same with his own. Both charged and Kimimaro met their charge, knocking Ryuu's blade aside and spinning, slamming a kick into Ryuu's gut, hurling him away, before spinning and kicking Sai away as well. Just as Ryuu's feet touched the ground, Kimimaro's elbow crashed into his face, shattering his nose and launching him backward. He flipped, setting his hand on the ground only for Kimimaro to appear behind him, kicking him in the ribs and launching him sideways. Ryuu flipped, bouncing once before flipping and landing on his feet, skidding backward before slowing to a stop in a crouch, healing his nose. Once it was healed and numbed enough for him to fight, he watched Kimimaro carefully. Even with his Sharingan he hadn't been able to keep up. He completely released his Gravity Seals and stood, tossing his borrowed tanto aside.

"May I request a bone tanto so that we can make this interesting?" Ryuu asked.

Kimimaro watched him in silence for a moment before raising an arm, the spike shooting out of his palm and stabbing into the ground between Ryuu's feet, now with a round bone just long enough for two hands as a handle at the base of the two foot blade. It wasn't a tanto, but it would do. And because it was made from chakra, even if not his, it would conduct chakra as well as chakra metal.

Kimimaro cracked his neck, regrowing the spike. "Shall we begin?"

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	51. Chapter 51

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Kimimaro

"Shall we begin?"

Ryuu shot forward, slashing at Kimimaro, his tanto sparking against Kimimaro's bone spikes. He flipped, Kimimaro blocking the blow with his forearms before spinning, a bone blade sprouting from his elbow as he turned. Ryuu twisted, barely escaping the blade, then flipped, slamming a kick into Kimimaro's gut, launching him backward. Kimimaro flipped, spikes growing out of his sandals around the outside, short and just enough to stop him the moment they hit the ground. Then, he sprinted forward, the extra traction increasing his speed drastically.

Ryuu ducked as Kimimaro slashed at him, slashing at Kimimaro as he passed. The blade of his tanto scraped against a ribcage-like chest-protector that Kimimaro had suddenly grown, and Ryuu spun just past Kimimaro, stabbing at him from behind. Kimimaro spun, knocking the blade aside and stabbing Ryuu. Ryuu grinned, exploding into a ball of fire and throwing Kimimaro backward. Kimimaro bounced once then flipped, landing on his feet and skidding backward a few feet before Ryuu appeared in front of him, slashing. Kimimaro leaned to the side, avoiding the slash while slashing upward, splitting Ryuu up the chest, throwing him backward. The cut was thankfully fairly shallow and Ryuu wasn't bleeding too heavily, but it hurt like a bitch.

Kimimaro held his right hand up, the spike growing into a javelin. He flipped the javelin, catching it and hurling it at Ryuu. Ryuu could sense Sai behind him, directly in the javelin's path, and swore. He braced himself, slashing. Miraculously, he actually hit the javelin, burying it almost completely in the ground. Then, he sprinted forward, Kimimaro reaching up to a bone sticking out of his shoulder as he retracted the other spikes. He pulled up on the bone, removing a bone sword similar to the one he had given Ryuu from his arm. Then, he also sprinted forward. When they met, their blades clashed several times before Kimimaro dropped under a slash, kicking Ryuu under the chin, hurling him backward and chasing him. Ryuu flipped, blocking a kick with his forearms and being hurled backward. As he landed, Kimimaro appeared over him, slashing downward. Ryuu blocked the slash with his own blade, shoving it to the side and stabbing at Kimimaro, slipping his blade between the ribs of Kimimaro's armor, managing to drive the first few inches of the blade into Kimimaro before Kimimaro's knee crashed into his gut, making him let go of the handle. Then, Kimimaro flipped, kicking Ryuu in the side, sending him blasting along the ground. Ryuu flipped, landing on his feet just as Kimimaro hurled the bone sword Ryuu had been using aside and stepped forward.

The ground below Kimimaro erupted, ink snakes by the dozen wrapping around Kimimaro, binding him in place. Ryuu sprinted forward, pushing himself as fast as he could. Before he could reach Kimimaro, however, bone spikes sprouted all over his body, destroying all of the snakes, before retracting and allowing Kimimaro to meet Ryuu's charge with a stab. Ryuu dropped, the blade taking his forehead protector off, then stood, driving a punch into Kimimaro's face, sending him staggering backward. As Kimimaro began to recover, Ryuu jumped, kicking him in the side of the jaw and sending him flying sideways. He shot after Kimimaro, getting under him before placing his hands on the ground and smashing both feet into Kimimaro's side. Kimimaro flew into the air, Ryuu appearing behind him, grabbing him and hurling him skyward. As Kimimaro flew higher, the Ryuu that had thrown him exploded into smoke. Kimimaro looked up as a massive crow appeared from in front of the sun, four Ryuus leaping off of it. One was below the other three, spinning in a blur, two of the others holding the last by the feet. Kimimaro raised his hand, firing three of the bones from his fingertips as projectiles. Just as he did, three more Ryuus appeared in clouds of smoke, blocking the shots. At the same time, the spinning Ryuu yanked on chakra threads as hard as he could as the two Ryuus holding the last fired Gale Palms, sending the fourth Ryuu shooting at Kimimaro in a blurred streak. Kimimaro crossed his arms over his face, growing bone armor on them only for Ryuu's fists to both crash into Kimimaro's stomach, sending him blasting back into the ground, cratering it.

Then, Kimimaro stood, a barrage of fingertips shooting out of the dust and hitting all four Ryuus, all four exploding into smoke. Kimimaro looked around, seeing three Ryuus standing around him. One Ryuu had a Chidori in each hand, one was holding the bone sword Kimimaro had taken from him earlier, and one was barehanded.

"Well come on then," Kimimaro said.

All three charged, the one with the bone sword reaching him first. Kimimaro blocked several slashes before flipping over a Chidori. He flipped crashing down on the Ryuu with the sword, stabbing him in the head and making him explode into smoke. Then, he looked up just as the last Ryuu slammed a fist into his face. A deafening boom shot off at the impact, sending Kimimaro shooting backward. Kimimaro flipped, stabbing his sword into the ground to slow himself to a stop only for two Chidoris to drive themselves through his chest. Kimimaro coughed up blood, staggering forward. Then, he stopped, spinning and slashing that Ryuu as well, making him explode into smoke. He turned back to the last Ryuu as his Curse Mark spread, his bones growing to seal the wound, cutting of his bleeding to a bare minimum, though not entirely.

"Is that even possible?" Ryuu gaped. "What the hell are you?"

"A dying man," Kimimaro said. "A tool of Lord Orochimaru."

"Well, since you're dying anyway, I'll help you speed up the process," Ryuu said, sprinting forward.

As he reached Kimimaro, he threw a punch, Kimimaro leaning out of the way, seeing the seals that stretched across his knuckles now.

"Repulsion seals," Kimimaro mused. "Explains the power of that last punch."

He drilled his knee into Ryuu's gut after having stepped out of the way of a kick and Ryuu flew backward. Then, just as Ryuu landed, Kimimaro appeared over him, driving four bone swords down into each of Ryuu's limbs in the middle of his shins and forearms, Ryuu screaming in pain as he did. Kimimaro knelt, picking up the bone sword Ryuu had used earlier and raised it, tip downward.

"It looks like you still weren't fast enough," Kimimaro said. "Such a shame. I enjoyed having a challenge."

Just as Kimimaro stabbed downward, someone appeared over Ryuu, kicking the sword and redirecting it into Kimimaro's own abdomen before spinning, kicking Kimimaro and launching him away. Kimimaro flipped, landing on his feet and pulling the sword out, holding a hand to the wound.

"Who the hell are you?" Kimimaro demanded.

Ryuu stared up at the ninja, who wore a green body suit, orange legs warmers, and bandages on his forearms.

"Lee!" Ryuu gaped. "But how?"

"Lady Tsunade was able to restore me, though I had to sneak out of the hospital to come here," Lee said.

"I've never been so happy to see you in my life," Ryuu said. "Be careful, he uses his own bones to attack, including firing his fingertips as projectiles."

"Very well," Lee nodded. "Your opponent is me now."

Kimimaro nodded and Lee shot forward, not as fast as Ryuu remembered, but probably only because of having just snuck out of the hospital. As he reached Kimimaro, he jumped, spinning and throwing a kick at Kimimaro's head, only for Kimimaro to lean back out of the way. Then, as he landed, he swept at Kimimaro's legs, again missing. Kimimaro landed and stabbed at Lee, who batted it aside and punched at Kimimaro. Kimimaro stepped out of the way and push kicked Lee, launching him. Just then, Sai reached Ryuu, yanking the bone blades out of his limbs, Ryuu gritting his teeth and remaining silent. He sat up, beginning to heal himself, starting with his arms, then looked up as Lee pulled a bottle out of his ninja tool pouch, draining it. Then, suddenly, he was swaying and staggering from one side to the other, obviously drunk. Kimimaro watched him for several seconds before Lee shot forward, leaping and spinning, kicking at Kimimaro and managing to take a few hairs. Then, as he fell, he twisted, kicking at Kimimaro again only for Kimimaro to leap into the air. Lee landed on his hands and feet, leaping into the air and beginning to strike at Kimimaro rapidly, Kimimaro still managing to block or dodge all of the strikes, but definitely having a harder time of it than before.

Finally, Kimimaro blocked a kick with his foot, using Lee's leg to flip backward, landing a short distance from Lee. Lee landed as well only to tip backward and fall to the ground. Kimimaro stood there, watching Lee as Lee slept for several seconds before walking forward, stopping over him. He held his bone sword out only for Lee to sit up, grabbing the sword and slamming a blistering series of punches and kicks into Kimimaro, launching him backward. Then, he tipped over again, beginning to snore again. Kimimaro watched him from where he was sitting on the ground, Ryuu and Sai doing the same.

"What's wrong with him?" Sai asked.

"I think he's drunk," Ryuu said.

As Kimimaro walked over to Lee, Lee jumped up, punching at Kimimaro a couple times before stopping, swaying dangerously.

"Looks like you fell for it...again," Lee slurred. "If you honestly think...I would...fall asleep on the battlefield...you are sorely...mistaken...Hey, wait a minute...where am I? What am I...doing here?"

Then, he staggered backward before falling onto his ass, dragging his legs inward to cross them and crossing his arms before passing out. Kimimaro stabbed the sword into the ground, picking up the bottle Lee had dropped and sniffing it. Then, he dropped it again, picking up his sword again. He walked forward, nudging Lee with his foot and making him flop onto his back, still snoring. Ryuu grit his teeth as he moved on to his legs, working as quickly as he could. Kimimaro stabbed downward at Lee, only for Lee to roll onto his side. He pulled his sword back, staring at him, before stabbing at him again, this time Lee rolling back onto his back. Kimimaro tried again and Lee rolled to the other side. Kimimaro tried several more times and Lee continuously rolled out of the way before finally catching the blade between his feet, still fast asleep. Then, he spun, throwing Kimimaro away and regaining his feet, opening his eyes and looking around confusedly. Kimimaro spun, slashing at him rapidly only for Lee to dodge the strikes and block a few of them. Kimimaro began to grow irritated as he tried more and more to cut Lee to ribbons, only for Lee to continue to dodge, claiming to be trying to take a nap. Then, he slammed several strikes into Kimimaro, launching him backward.

"How is he doing this?" Sai asked.

"He's using Drunken Fist," Ryuu said. "Looks like he's a natural-born master of it."

Suddenly, Lee and Kimimaro began to attack each other rapidly. For a moment, neither managed to make contact, before Lee began to land several against Kimimaro, launching him backward before shooting after him, spinning like a drill. Kimimaro blocked it with his sword for a moment before Lee flipped backward, landing and sprinting forward again, the two beginning to trade blows again. Lee began to say something about being in the springtime of his youth and enjoying it, but as he did, he flipped onto his hands, kicking down at Kimimaro rapidly, Kimimaro blocking the strikes with his sword before slashing at Lee and missing, Lee flipping to his feet again and continuing his assault on the bone user. After a few moments, Lee managed to land a hit stronger than most, forcing Kimimaro to fly backward, dropping his bone sword. As Kimimaro landed, he grew four bones out of his left forearm around his hand, his curse mark spreading a few inches. Ryuu watched as Kimimaro shot forward, scooping his sword off of the ground and attacking Lee again. Lee avoided everything for a moment before bending forward. Bones suddenly sprouted from Kimimaro's chest, slicing a gash into Lee's cheek as he leapt away. After a moment, he sat up, holding a hand to his head as Ryuu was sure it throbbed painfully.

He pushed himself up, sprinting at Kimimaro and punching, only for Kimimaro to use the bones in his forearm to block the punch. Then, Lee leapt back only to charge again. This time, as he punched at Kimimaro, bones exploded out of his skin all over his body, stabbing into Lee's fist before he spun, Lee spinning opposite him as the bones carved into him. Finally, Kimimaro kicked Lee in the jaw, launching him away. Ryuu stood, picking up one of the bone blades that had been used to pin him down and charged at Kimimaro, appearing in front of Kimimaro as he moved to finish Lee. He slashed Kimimaro's arm aside and stabbed at him, forcing Kimimaro to leap away from him. Kimimaro's eyes narrowed as he watched Ryuu.

"I had thought you would be finished fighting," Kimimaro said. "You're rather resilient."

Ryuu smirked, sprinting at Kimimaro. However, it seemed Kimimaro had had enough of fighting. His curse mark spread over his entire body and he slashed Ryuu's blade aside. Ryuu flipped over Kimimaro instantly, drawing the tanto Sai had given him and exhaling a Vacuum Blade on it, slashing at Kimimaro as he fell. Kimimaro blocked the Vacuum Blade with his own sword, shoving it away and slashing at Ryuu. Ryuu ducked under Kimimaro's blade, forming a Water Blade in his free hand and standing, slashing upward at Kimimaro, only for him to suddenly be gone. Ryuu spun just as Kimimaro's foot crashed into his face. He flew through the air, flipping and setting his feet on the ground only for Kimimaro to appear less than an inch in front of him, moving to stab him with a spike growing out of his left hand. Instead, sand appeared between Ryuu's face and Kimimaro's hand, shooting outward in all directions and launching both away from each other.

Ryuu flipped, landing on his feet and looking back, seeing Gaara standing behind him, arms crossed and a blank expression on his face, as always. However, he had traded his old black outfit for a pair of red pants and jacket matching his hair color. Ryuu smiled, standing and cracking his neck.

"Gaara, I never thought I'd be happy to see you," Ryuu said. "Care to help me beat this guy's ass?"

Gaara nodded once. "My siblings and I were sent to reinforce you and the others."

"I'm glad you made it," Ryuu said. "So, I'll start."

Kimimaro retracted most of the spikes over his body, narrowing his eyes at the pair.

"You," Gaara said, looking back at Lee as Ryuu stopped to listen. "You seem different. When you fought me you had much more agility and power."

"I thought you might say something like that," Lee said. "I am not usually one to hold grudges...however, because of you, I've had a really rough time of it."

"I see," Gaara said. "I'm sorry."

Lee stared at Gaara like he had two heads and Ryuu smiled, sprinting forward. Kimimaro narrowed his eyes, throwing a punch only for Ryuu to spin past it, sand crashing into Kimimaro's gut and launching him backward. As Kimimaro flipped and landed on his feet, Ryuu appeared beside him, spinning.

"Leaf Hurricane!" Ryuu shouted, slamming his foot into Kimimaro's face and blasting him backward. As soon as Kimimaro landed, sand shot up around him, wrapping around him completely as Gaara held his hand out, eyes narrowed as Kimimaro fought to break free. Finally, the sand exploded off of him just as more exploded up from below, almost triple the amount. It swallowed Kimimaro instantly before Gaara closed his fist.

"Sand Burial," Gaara said.

The sand constricted, blood splattering out of it and Gaara lowered his hand.

"Well look at this guy," Gaara said. "He reminds me of him. Uchiha. Uchiha had the same eyes."

"He's not dead, is he?" Ryuu asked.

"Far from it," Gaara said.

Suddenly, a hand burst out of the sand, a hand with chunks of skin ground off and with black lines covering it from Kimimaro's curse mark, now spread over his entire body. Ryuu growled in annoyance as the sand exploded off of Kimimaro again, revealing massive patches of shredded skin and exposed bone. The bones keeping his stab wounds from Ryuu earlier had even been broken open, though the wound had already healed almost half way.

"Jesus," Ryuu said. "This fucking guy."

"Watch out Ryuu," Gaara said as sand exploded out of the ground at his feet. "Sand Tsunami!"

Ryuu used the Body Flicker Technique to get to Gaara and Lee again, watching the massive wave of sand reach fifty feet into the air before flooding outward, covering everything for a mile in sand, destroying the forest before them. Then, Gaara knelt, slamming his hands into the sand.

"Giant Sand Burial!" Gaara said, the ground shaking as waves shot out across the sand as it compressed.

Yet, Ryuu could still sense Kimimaro. He sighed, watching as the sand began to move in the distance.

"Why won't he give up?" Gaara breathed.

"What?" Lee gaped. "He is not dead yet?"

"No," Ryuu said. "He's still alive."

Suddenly, he was up, sprinting forward. Except, he was completely different. His skin was a dark brown, he had six massive bone spikes protruding out of his back, claws, black markings around his eyes with his forehead wrinkled heavily, and a tail with rectangular bone protrusions running down the center of it. Ryuu stared at him. Gaara caught him in a sand coffin but he instantly burst out of it, streaking forward. Gaara began to try to catch him again and again, but he avoided them. Except, Ryuu noticed a change. He could swear Kimimaro was moving slower than before. Then, Gaara formed a massive wall of sand three feet thick, only for Kimimaro to blast through it in an instant, ramming his shoulder into Gaara and launching him away.

As Gaara flew, Ryuu appeared beside Kimimaro, throwing a kick, which Kimimaro blocked, then dropping as Kimimaro's tail swiped at him. Then, he stood, slamming a fist into Kimimaro's completely healed torso, sending him blasting backward and tearing a trench in the ground. Ryuu grinned. He was definitely slower now. Kimimaro stood, growling.

"Okay, fine," Kimimaro snarled. "I'll take you down first!"

He shot forward, a bone spike growing out of his forearm and reaching past his hand. Ryuu flipped as it passed over him, knowing full well that Kimimaro's striking power had more than doubled, then flipped slamming a punch into Kimimaro's back, blasting him into the ground before flipping again and slamming a repulsion seal into his face, sending him bouncing backward over the ground and into a waiting wall of sand.

"Sand Bur-" Gaara was cut off by Kimimaro exploding out of the sand, swinging his spinal column like a whip.

Gaara's sand shot up around him as the bone whip wrapped around the outside of it. Then, Kimimaro's left arm grew bones rapidly until it had formed a drill. Ryuu leapt at him but he smashed the drill into him, batting him away. Suddenly sand shot up out of the ground, growing into a large, fat, raccoon-looking thing with a conical hat.

"Ultimate Defense, Shukaku's Shield!" Gaara said.

Kimimaro shot forward, driving the spear into the shield. For a moment, it began to fight its way through. But then, it shattered. Kimimaro growled in annoyance just before Ryuu slammed a kick into the side of his head, forcing him away from the shield, which he had barely made a crater in. Kimimaro staggered away from Ryuu, leaving the whip behind, and Ryuu flipped, kicking Kimimaro under the jaw, launching him skyward. Then, Ryuu jumped, Gaara launching him into the air with sand before more sand caught him above Kimimaro, launching him back down. Ryuu flipped at the last second, slamming both fists down on Kimimaro's chest in a double hammer fist, the repulsion seals on his fists sending Kimimaro blasting ino the ground and forming a crater. Then, the ground below him came alive, wrapping around him and dragging him downward into an antlion pit.

"I will bury you two hundred meters below the surface," Gaara said from the top of the pit. "Under pressure so great you won't be able to move a finger. And you will remain there until the end of time."

Then, Kimimaro was gone. A few seconds later, the sand stilled and Gaara sighed.

"You did it!" Lee cheered. "This time I am sure of it!"

Suddenly, Ryuu felt Kimimaro's chakra spike massively, spreading rapidly through the ground. Massive bone spikes began to erupt out of the ground, rapidly spreading from the pit. Ryuu leapt away from them, landing and instantly jumping again, a spike barely missing him as it grew. Then, as he landed again, he used the Body Flicker Technique to begin dodging the spikes, which seemed to have slowed down. Finally, he landed on the side of one as they finished growing, looking around and seeing Gaara, Sai, and Lee floating on sand a short distance away.

"Oh man," Ryuu said. "Even you can fly Gaara? What a load of crap! I wanna learn to fly!"

"I am not his pawn!" Kimimaro shouted, suddenly behind Gaara, a bone drill over his arm. "Orochimaru is the only one who ever gave my life meaning! But what could you ever understand about it!?"

He drove the drill at Gaara's head, but less than an inch away, he froze, blood running down his chin and falling to the ground below. Ryuu stared at him. He was dead. His disease had killed him. Ryuu slid down the bone spike, walking out of the forest of them and to where Gaara, Sai, and Lee were resting. Then, he fell onto his back and sighed.

"That was too close," Ryuu sighed. "We need to make sure the others are okay."

"What about Naruto and Sasuke?" Lee asked.

"Naruto will handle him, but if Sasuke wants to fight, none of us have the energy to help Naruto now," Ryuu said.

Lee sighed, nodding.

"I do," Sai spoke up. "I could make sure things go according to plan."

Ryuu watched him for a moment before shaking his head. "I have another task for you. Head back the other way now. Find Kiba and Shin. They're the ones that will need to be helped most."

Sai nodded, turning and sprinting back the way they had come from. Ryuu leaned up against the tree and sighed, letting his head fall forward. He needed to sleep. But he could only rest a few minutes before he had to go after Naruto and make sure Sasuke got away without anyone being hurt too bad.

* * *

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	52. Chapter 52

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Succeeding At Failing

Ryuu stood, Lee and Gaara looking up at him.

"Where are you going?" Gaara asked.

"I'm going to make sure Sasuke and Naruto don't kill each other," Ryuu said.

"But you told Sai there was no need," Lee said.

"Let's just say that I'm not a hundred percent certain about Sai's loyalty," Ryuu said. "His boss is...well, I'd almost rather work for Orochimaru."

"He must be quite a monster then," Lee said. "Go. We'll stay here to rest a while longer then go and check on the others."

Ryuu nodded, taking off in the direction he thought Naruto had run. After a short while, he reached an area where the trees for half a mile had been cut to pieces. And directly in front of him, Tayuya was pinned below two of them. Ryuu stared at her, unsure how he had gotten so turned around as to have gone the exact opposite direction he meant to, but it wasn't a big deal. He _was_ a little annoyed that Shikamaru, or whoever had helped Shikamaru, probably Temari, had simply killed Tayuya instead of trying to capture her, but he couldn't judge.

Suddenly, he saw Tayuya's finger twitch and he ran over, dropping to his knees and feeling her neck. There was no way she was alive. But there it was. She had a pulse. It was barely there, and fading fast, but it _was_ there. He quickly formed a dozen clones who lifted the first chunk of tree off of her. Then, three of the clones, along with Ryuu, knelt around Tayuya, beginning to heal her crushed body even before the tree segment was lifted off. Once it was, the extend of the injury became clear. Her body had been crushed almost flat from mid-abdomen to her knees. It was low enough that she had survived, and her spinal cord had miraculously not been damaged in any way, but it would be a miracle all on its own if Ryuu could save her. As the other clones gathered around, also helping to heal her, Ryuu closed his eyes, praying to God to allow her to live, and to help him save her, not only from death, but also from Orochimaru. He didn't know her personality, and he didn't know her history or her heart, but she had survived her fight, and she would killed if she ever returned to Orochimaru. So if she could be put on the correct path and turned away from Orochimaru, if she _could_ be given a second chance, she deserved that much.

Ryuu opened his eyes as he finished praying and focused, putting as much chakra as he could into his Medical ninjutsu, slowly managing to undo the would-be fatal injury. It occurred to Ryuu that Shikamaru was supposed to be there, but he didn't have time to worry about why they weren't. He focused on his jutsu, emptying his mind of all else. Then, finally, just as he was nearing the end of his strength, he sat back, allowing the clones to all explode into smoke. Tayuya was far from healed, but she was stabilized. He had done it. He had saved her from death. He smiled, closing his eyes and thanking God for his help. Then, he lifted Tayuya onto his back, already having used his Medical Ninjutsu to completely numb her entire body to keep her from waking up as he moved her. He took off again, heading back the way he had come, passing around Gaara and Lee, making sure they didn't notice him, then continuing.

After a few minutes, Ryuu finally reached a path where stone reached up over the path almost completely but was missing above it, making it look sort of like a gigantic, stone ribcage. Then, he entered a tunnel, seeing a spot of light up ahead. He ran faster as he heard the sounds of battle, along with Naruto shouting, though he couldn't make out the words. Finally, he left the tunnel into an utterly demolished landscape. He was at the Final Valley, and the statues of Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju were still standing, but the cliffs on both sides had been completely devastated, the ground ripped asunder and blown apart by explosions. He ran to the edge to where he could feel two incredibly powerful and incredibly dark chakras and froze. The sides of the cliffs were even more devastated, and at the feet of the statues were Naruto and Sasuke.

Naruto was in a broken spot in Hashirama's ankle with boiling red Tailed Beast chakra surrounding him and slowly burning his skin, if Ryuu's Sharingan was seeing it correctly, and Naruto was holding a Rasengan in his right hand, the Rasengan having the Tailed Beast chakra condensed around it. The chakra all over Naruto's body seemed to be solid, but around the Rasengan it was thickest and had almost double the concentration of Tailed Beast chakra as the rest of the shroud. Sasuke, on the other hand, was in a broken part of Madara's ankle and had entered his Curse Mark Level Two. His skin was a dark grayish brown, like Kimimaro's had been, and his hair had turned light blue and grown a bit longer. There was a black four-pointed star across the bridge of his nose then running up and down his nose and between his eyes. From his back, two wings had sprouted, looking like clawed hands with webbed fingers. Sasuke's sclerae were black with his Sharingan glowing slightly. And in Sasuke's hand was a dark grey chidori that was making a distorted chirping noise several octaves lower than it should have been.

"No way," Ryuu breathed. "Sasuke...that power...what are you..."

Both of the shinobi leapt at each other, both shouting as they slammed their jutsus together. Ryuu shielded his eyes as the concussion of the impact sent dust and water flying up over the edge of the cliff. Then, he watched as the chakra being thrown off of both of the jutsus condensed around the pair in a dark purple, nearly solid, sphere. Then, it grew, solidifying and turning pitch black. It continued to expand, spinning around and around, until it was blocking the waterfall, having broken through part of the cliff to do so. Water cascaded over it rapidly. Ryuu actually felt fear form in his stomach as he stared at all of the chakra built up in the sphere, and building up even more inside of it. The sphere hurt his Sharingan to look at, and he could sense the chakra inside like a bonfire. Then, suddenly, the water shot up off of it, straight up against its own current and a hundred feet into the air. Purple light began to glow in the center of the sphere, somehow visible through the sphere without the sphere turning anything other than pitch black. Then, the purple light began to turn pure white as cracks began to spread. Ryuu fled instantly, knowing what was about to happen. He moved Tayuya around in front of him to shield her from the blast, since she was currently a lot more fragile than him. Then, it exploded.

Ryuu felt the concussion hit like a solid wall and send him pinwheeling a dozen feet into the air before he crashed back down, bouncing and rolling to a stop, feeling the vibrations of debris landing around him sending agony shooting through his battered and abused body, yet he couldn't hear the debris hitting. Finally, he groaned, again not hearing anything, and pushed himself up, reaching up and healing his eardrums, thankfully a fairly easy thing to do, and staggered toward what remained of the cliff, carefully picking up Tayuya on the way. Both statues had been completely obliterated below the middle of the chest, and at the base of what used to be Madara's, Sasuke was standing over an unconscious, hopefully, Naruto. Ryuu leapt off of the cliff, flipping and planting his feet on the opposite cliff, using chakra to slow his descent as he slid down it, stopping beside Sasuke and setting Tayuya down gently before wheeling around on Sasuke, rage flooding him anew.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" Ryuu seethed, grabbing Sasuke by the left shoulder and spinning him, Sasuke instinctively activating his Sharingan to prepare for a fight, allowing Ryuu to see he had three tomoe in them now, only for them to instantly deactivate as Sasuke collapsed. Ryuu quickly set him down, beginning to heal him, starting with his right shoulder's bones, which had been almost turned to dust by Naruto's Rasengan. "Sasuke, that Chidori. Why were you trying to kill Naruto?"

"My...Curse Mark..." Sasuke croaked. "It's hard...to control. Its power is...dark. It made me...angry. Like you...when you...fought Ishidate. I hate it. But I couldn't...beat him...without it."

"I see," Ryuu nodded. "He definitely wasn't holding back once he lost control. Fu's warned me about that state. You know what he is, right?"

Sasuke managed a weak nod.

"That state's called a Tailed Beast Chakra Mode," Ryuu said. "It's powerful, but also dangerous. When a Jinchuriki doesn't have control over their Tailed Beast, the chakra corrodes their skin, and eventually they lose control to the Tailed Beast's rage, allowing it to control them. And if the cloak reaches the same number of tails as their Tailed Beast, the Tailed Beast is free. That would kill the Jinchuriki. In the end, it's good that you beat Naruto. Otherwise, there's no telling what could have happened."

Sasuke nodded.

"So, you have level three Sharingan now, huh?" Ryuu asked. "Lucky. Looks like you've finally surpassed me."

"What are you...talking about?" Sasuke asked, brow furrowing. "You really never knew? Your Sharingan...turned level three...when Ishidate almost...killed Fu."

"They did?" Ryuu blinked, drawing the borrowed tanto he still had and activating his Sharingan, staring at the reflection.

Sasuke was right. He had never thought to check, and so had never noticed, but Sasuke was right. He had three tomoe.

"Huh," Ryuu said, putting the tanto away. "You would think I'd have noticed that."

"I would have thought," Sasuke smiled.

"Well I don't exactly look in the mirror with my Sharingan active a whole lot, do you?" Ryuu asked.

"Not really," Sasuke said. "I think I can walk now."

Ryuu nodded, helping him up. Then, Sasuke turned, walking away. Almost as soon as he was around the corner of the cliff, Ryuu heard an odd, stretching rubber sound behind himself and spun, staring at a being with a venus flytrap sticking out of its shoulders, green hair, and a head with the right half completely black and featureless besides one perfectly round, glowing yellow eyes, and the left half snow-white with a human face and a dull yellow iris. It had a black cloak with red clouds wrapped around its body below the venus flytrap and a single leg with a white leg warmer, a blue sandal, and a snow-white right foot inside the sandal was extended from the bottom of the cloak, the other side turning into what looked like roots and merging with the ground.

"What the-"

"Hello Ryuu Uchiha," the being said, the left half's mouth moving and releasing a cheery, high-pitched male voice, but when it spoke again, the left half's mouth didn't move and the voice was much, much deeper and raspier, as well as much less cheerful. " **And thank you.** "

Then, a long root shot out of the creature's right sleeve, swinging around and slamming into Ryuu like a whip before he could react, launching him backward into a cliff. Ryuu slammed into the cliff head-first and his world spun, all sense fleeing. Then, as it began to return, it was because someone was shaking him.

"Ryuu!" the voice said, Ryuu opening his eyes to see Kakashi kneeling over him. "Are you alright?"

"I think so," Ryuu nodded, slowly pushing himself up and looking around, seeing Naruto and Tayuya lying where they had been before. "Why did he say..." Ryuu's eyes widened. If that creature was a member of the Akatsuki like he suspected, and he had been thanking Ryuu without taking Naruto, then there was only one other thing he could mean. "Kakashi, we need to get home, now!"

"What?" Kakashi asked, bewildered and confused.

"Now!" Ryuu shouted, hurling a scroll with his giant crow's summoning seal on it into the air. "Summoning Jutsu!"

A cloud of smoke shot out of the scroll, which Ryuu caught and tucked away, and Ryuu leapt onto the crow hovering there.

"Get me to the Hidden Leaf Village!" Ryuu said.

"Ryuu wait!" Kakashi said. "What's going on?"

"There was an Akatsuki Member here!" Ryuu said before grabbing Tayuya with Chakra Threads and pulling her up to himself before the crow took off, flying much faster than Ryuu could run.

Ryuu clung to the bird, the minutes ticking by into hours before finally, five hours later, the crow finally landed outside of the main gate, Ryuu leaping off of it and releasing its jutsu, sprinting into the village on jelly legs. He was running, barely, on fumes and fear, and more than a few times he nearly collapsed. However, he continued to run, finally reaching his house and unceremoniously dropping Tayuya outside, throwing the door open. As soon as he did, he froze, seeing Fu standing before him, in the middle of a conversation with Yugao, though both were staring at him in surprise and confusion now. Ryuu felt his strength leave him as relief flooded through his body, dropping him to his knees.

"Ryuu!" Fu gasped, catching him as he tipped sideways, her eyes wide with fear.

He smiled, forcing his hand to move in order to reach up and cup her face, partially to make sure she was real, and partially to calm her. "I was...so scared."

"Ryuu, hang on!" Fu said. "It's going to be okay!"

Ryuu shook his head. "I'm fine. Exhausted, but fine. I thought you...were in danger."

"Why?" Fu asked, confusion filling her face.

"There was...an...Akatsuki member...at the Final Valley," Ryuu said, both Fu and Yugao tensing. "He...thanked me...for something...then knocked me out. I thought...he had hurt you."

Fu shook her head. "I'm fine. See?"

Ryuu nodded, smiling, and set his head down on the crook of her elbow, sighing. "I'm going to...rest now. Don't let them...put me in a hospital."

Fu nodded, smiling, and Ryuu closed his eyes, passing out almost instantly.

* * *

Ryuu waited as Shikamaru finished briefing Tsunade on how everyone else's individual battles went. Choji had used a forbidden food pill that increased his chakra a hundred fold at the cost of being fatal, as a result, he had very nearly died. Neji Hyuga had been fatally wounded by Kidomaru. Both had defeated their opponents with the last of their strength and killed them. Then, upon being returned to the village, Tsunade had used the Nara Clan's ancient medical tome and her skills as a Medical Ninja to save Choji, and Shizune and a team of the most highly skilled Medical Ninja in the village besides Tsunade had worked for hours to save Neji, eventually succeeding. Kiba, Akamaru, and Shin had all been severely wounded by Sakon and Ukon. However, Kankuro had arrived in time to save them by killing the twins, leaving the three with only moderate injuries and a two week recovery period. The, there was Shikamaru. According to his report, he had had trouble dealing with Tayuya, but before anything more than a broken finger had come of it, Temari had stepped in and defeated Tayuya. Shikamaru had reported her killed, but Ryuu corrected him, telling them both that he had managed to save her and that Fu was currently working on healing her in his house, Tayuya wearing almost a dozen chakra suppression seals now, as well as being unable to move due to her injury, which wouldn't be healed for almost a month.

Once Shikamaru had finished his report, Ryuu filled Tsunade in on his fight with Kimimaro, and with Lee and Gaara both helping him, then on saving Tayuya, who he stressed he had found on accident, in more detail, followed by his trip to the Valley of the End, ending his report with finding Naruto unconscious and passing out beside him. Tsunade finished writing the report down and closed the scroll, dismissing Shikamaru. Then, she turned to Ryuu.

"Are you okay?" Tsunade asked.

"Was...was it..." Ryuu stared at the floor for several long moments, Shikamaru's description of the others' conditions replaying in his head again and again. "Was it...worth it? I nearly got two four of my friends killed."

"That's a part of being a leader," Tsunade said. "You make a call, and then you live with the consequences. But, if you ask me, yes. It was worth it. No one died, we gained the Hidden Sound Kunoichi as a prisoner to get intel out of, and Sasuke was successfully placed in Orochimaru's organization without being possessed. Your mission officially was a failure, which means it was a success. If a hard-won one."

Ryuu nodded. "There's more to the report. Off the record."

Tsunade nodded.

"I didn't pass out beside Naruto, and he wasn't alone when I got there," Ryuu said. "Sasuke was there and was wounded even worse than Naruto. I healed him enough for him to make it the rest of the way alone, but as soon as he left, a creature with a venus flytrap around his head and a face that was half snow-white and half featureless black appeared and thanked me for something, I don't know what, then grew a root out of his black cloak with a red cloud on it and used it to knock me out."

"Akatsuki?" Tsunade gasped. "You're sure?"

"Not entirely, but that's the description you gave me was that cloak," Ryuu said. "Once Kakashi woke me up, I saw that Naruto hadn't been taken, so I thought maybe the Akatsuki member had done something to Fu. So I used my summoning crow to get back to the village, and since I had been the one to save Tayuya, I brought her with me, sort of because I felt like she was my responsibility, I guess. But when I got to my house, Fu was fine, so I passed out there."

Tsunade nodded. "Understood. I'll have ANBU keep an eye on Fu. And Yugao is keeping an eye on Tayuya while she's here. Since you saved her, you're right, she's your responsibility. While she's being healed, you'll keep her under surveillance yourself. Then, when she's fully healed, she'll be given to Ibiki to have information extracted from her."

"That might not be necessary," Ryuu said. "I'm going to try to save her."

Tsunade sighed. "Of course you are. You and Naruto. You're too forgiving and kind for your own good, the both of you. If you can't save her by the time she's healed, Ibiki gets her."

"Lady Tsunade," Ryuu said.

"What?" Tsunade sighed.

"Trust can't be earned," Ryuu said.

"Excuse me?" Tsunade asked.

"Trust can't be earned," Ryuu said. "In order for you to gain someone's trust, they have to be willing to risk giving it to you before you've earned it. If no one gives you the chance to earn their trust by choosing to trust you, then you will never gain their trust."

"What are you saying?" Tsunade asked. "That I'm going to have to trust a Hidden Sound ninja?"

"In order to know if I actually saved her or not, yes," Ryuu nodded.

Tsunade stared at him before taking a long, slow breath. "I'm going to need so much alcohol for this. Fine. She'll be on a team with you and Fu, and she'll have the rank of genin. Now we just need to find you a Jonin captain."

"Yugao," Ryuu said, Tsunade giving him a skeptical look. "She told me that fighting is difficult for her ever since Hayate Gekko died. So being an ANBU is bad for her health. As a regular Jonin, it would be more manageable."

"Okay," Tsunade sighed. "That's actually not a bad idea. Any other unreasonable requests? Or can I start drinking now?"

"Only one more," Ryuu said, Tsunade groaning.

"Of course there is. Alright, what is it?"

"Danzo Shimura uses the practice of forcing his subordinates to kill their best friends to remove their emotions," Ryuu said. "I want you to take Sai and Shin away from Danzo before he can force one to kill the other. Also, Shin is terminally ill. I was hoping you could save him."

"Danzo still...I see," Tsunade growled. "That fucking snake. Okay. I'll see what I can do about Shin's illness. And they'll both be out of the Foundation in a few days."

Ryuu bowed, thanking Tsunade then left, heading home to tell Yugao the good news, as well as help Fu with Tayuya, who had yet to wake up.

* * *

Leave a review. _**I really liked Tayuya, and thought she had so much more potential than what they gave her. Plus, her death was kind of bullshit since Temari beat her in like two hits without even trying to catch her. So, now I need a pairing suggestion for Tayuya. Male or female, but preferably someone who either accents or counters Tayuya's abrasive, fuck-everyone attitude, although she'll definitely be mellowing out a bit from thinking everyone but herself is scum.**_


	53. Chapter 53

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Unwilling Guest

Ryuu knelt in front of Tayuya. She had been given one of the numerous spare rooms in Ryuu's house as a place to hold her, rather than a prison cell. He had, of course, placed seals on all of the windows to seal them shut, and one on the door that only allowed those with a specific seal on them to pass through. As a result, Tayuya was trapped in the room. However, it had its own bathroom with a toilet, shower, and tub, and Ryuu brought her food three times a day, so it wasn't exactly prison. He also always made sure to ask Tayuya if she needed anything, like a book, or something specific for a meal, or something to do. The only thing he had refused her was a flute, given her specific abilities with said instrument. Currently, she was sitting against the wall opposite the door, reading a book he had brought her a couple days ago.

"What?" Tayuya asked.

"Tsunade got on my case today about not getting any information out of you yet," Ryuu said. "I tried to tell her that you're still not fully recovered, but she wouldn't listen. So, I need to ask you a few questions, and I'd appreciate it if you could answer them honestly."

Tayuya grunted.

"How did you first meet Orochimaru?" Ryuu asked.

Tayuya turned the page.

"Okay," Ryuu said. "How did you first become a member of the Sound Four?"

Tayuya's eyes shifted to the other page.

"Okay, let's try an easy one," Ryuu said. "Which Curse Mark do you have?"

Tayuya turned the page again.

"Okay, fine," Ryuu said, taking the book from her and tossing it over his shoulder, Tayuya glaring at him. "I've been generous to you these last couple weeks. I saved you from death, I kept Lady Tsunade from handing you over to Ibiki Morino and the rest of Torture and Interrogation, and instead of keeping you locked up in a cell, I've allowed you to use one of the rooms in my house as a guest. I cook you three meals a day, ask you daily if you need anything or want anything specific for dinner, and I continue to keep Tsunade from giving you to Ibiki. But in order to do that, I need you to work with me. I need you to give me something, anything, so that I'm not wasting my time. Or, if this isn't what you want, I could give you to Ibiki. You'd spend the remainder of your life being tortured every day and being locked in a cell whenever you weren't. You'd sleep on the cold stone floor, you'd eat nothing but stale bread and dirty water, and you would probably die inside of two years. Is that what you want?"

Tayuya's face fell and she shook her head.

"Then how about we send you home to Orochimaru?" Ryuu asked. "I'm sure he'd welcome you home, right?"

Tayuya shook her head again. "He'd kill me."

"Then how about you show a little respect and common courtesy to the person keeping you alive and comfortable despite you trying to kill his friend and being an enemy to the village," Ryuu suggested. "You're not in a cell, you're in a bedroom with its own private bathroom. How about you start acting like it?"

"It's a cell," Tayuya said. "It may be a very nice and comfortable cell, but it's still a cell. I can't leave the room. I'm trapped just as surely as I was if I was with Ibiki."

"At least you don't have to piss and shit into a bucket that is only emptied if you yourself dump it through the bars of your cell," Ryuu said. "Now, I'm going to give you an ultimatum. You can either take your head out of your ass and tell me what I want to know in exchange for living a decent life here, and maybe being released once you've given us all the information you have, or you can go to Ibiki and he can torture the same information out of you, before leaving you to rot in a cell until you die."

Tayuya was silent, staring at the wall off to the side. Ryuu sighed, standing and walking to the door, sliding her book to her as he passed it. Just as he reached for the door handle, however, Tayuya spoke.

"He burned my village."

Ryuu turned, seeing Tayuya still staring at the wall, but with emotions waring in her eyes now, making it look like she was on the verge of tears.

"That's how I met Orochimaru," Tayuya said. "He burned my village. Only me and a handful of others survived. We were all rounded up and imprisoned by him, and then subjected to horrible experiments. He used to cut, stab, inject, and burn us for reasons we couldn't hope to guess at. It was hell. And whenever we weren't being tortured, we would be locked in a cell without even a bucket like you said earlier." Tears began to run down her cheeks. "Please. Please don't let them lock me in a cell. Don't let them torture me. I don't want to ever go through that again. I can't go through that again! I'd rather die!"

He knelt beside her, resting a hand on her shoulder before sighing and pulling her onto his own, letting her cry onto his shoulder. "I won't. But you have to work with me. You have to talk to me. Otherwise, there's nothing I can do. How did you go from prisoner to bodyguard?"

"While I was locked up, I made myself a flute from the stone on the floor," Tayuya said, slowly managing to stop crying and wiping her eyes. "I used to play it to pass the time, but then one day, Orochimaru walked into the prison and opened all of the doors. He said that whoever survived would get to be his bodyguard, and wouldn't be locked up or experimented on anymore. So everyone started fighting. I used genjutsu to help me fight, since I was naturally good at it, and eventually I won. I even killed the other survivors of my village, my friends. Later on, after I was in the Sound Ninja Four, Orochimaru taught me to combine my genjutsu with the sound of my flute."

"I see," Ryuu nodded. "And you never tried to leave?"

"I couldn't," Tayuya said. "Everyone knew that Orochimaru doesn't take betrayal or rejection well. Anyone who tried to leave was killed, painfully. And if they weren't, they were tortured, just for the sake of torturing. They'd have it even worse than we did for months until they finally decided to just stop breathing. I couldn't go through that. I was terrified of Orochimaru, and what he'd do to me if I ever failed him. So I did everything I could to make sure I didn't."

Ryuu nodded. "I understand. Can you tell me where Sasuke was being taken?"

"No," Tayuya said. "The hideout we were taking him to was scheduled to be abandoned as soon as Sasuke arrived. Orochimaru would be long gone from there by now."

"Where is it?" Ryuu asked.

"The Land of Rice Paddies," Tayuya said.

"I figured that," Ryuu said before something clicked.

Kabuto had mentioned a village in the Land of Rice Paddies that he wanted to help.

"Tayuya, even if he's not there, we have to search that base," Ryuu said. "There might be a clue to where he went."

"I don't know the name of the town it's beside," Tayuya said.

"Okay," Ryuu nodded. "Could you mark it on a map?"

Tayuya nodded, so Ryuu pulled the world map he always carried with him out of his tool pouch and spread it out. Tayuya pointed to a spot in the Land of Rice Paddies and Ryuu marked it, nodding.

"Thank you Tayuya," Ryuu said. "Do you know any other base locations?"

She pointed to a second, this one in the Land of Fire. "This is where I was originally held. It's the only other one I know."

Ryuu nodded, marking that one as well and folding up the map, putting it away. "Thank you, Tayuya. I promise you, I'll do everything in my power to keep you from being turned over to Ibiki, and no matter what happens, I won't let Orochimaru or his followers hurt you."

Tayuya nodded, smiling slightly. "I'll hold you to that."

Ryuu smiled and stood, walking to the door and opening it.

"Hey," Tayuya spoke up. "Can...can we have cake tonight? For desert?"

Ryuu smiled. "Sure thing."

Tayuya nodded and Ryuu left the room, closing behind him. Once it was secure and the seal had taken effect, he walked downstairs to where Fu was humming to herself as she worked on lunch, home-cooked ramen.

"You make the best Ramen," Ryuu said, wrapping his arms around her from behind and kissing the side of her neck then he cheek.

Fu smiled, reaching an arm back to gently run her fingers through the back of his hair. "You're just saying that because you don't want to cook."

Ryuu chuckled. "While you're right about me not wanting to cook, it's still true that you make the best ramen."

Fu smiled, setting the spoon she had been stirring with down and tilting her head back to rest on his shoulder, holding her free hand over both of his and sighing contentedly. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Fu began to stir the noodles again.

"So, how's our future teammate doing?" Fu asked.

"It took some convincing, and a threat to hand her over to Ibiki or Orochimaru, but she gave us some information," Ryuu said. "The location of two of Orochimaru's bases and her story of how she got to be his bodyguard." He created a clone, who took his map and left for Tsunade's office.

"I see," Fu nodded. "Does she know much else?"

"Probably a few things, but not a whole lot, I'd imagine," Ryuu said. "She was serving him out of fear, so even though she's smart, she probably had other things to worry about besides making herself a risk for Orochimaru to remove."

Fu nodded. "Probably. How're her wounds?"

"They're mostly healed," Ryuu said. "A few more days of treatment and she'll be as good as new."

Fu nodded. Just then, Yugao walked out of the living room, yawning and stretching. Ryuu smirked. Here she was supposed to be guarding Tayuya, and instead she was napping in the living room.

"Hello," Yugao smiled. "Any progress?"

"Quite a bit, I think," Ryuu nodded. "I suppose we'll find out, though. Time's almost up."

Yugao nodded, sighing. "I've enjoyed the time off, now that I'm not an ANBU. I'm going to miss doing nothing."

"It _is_ pretty fun, yeah," Ryuu nodded.

He gave Fu another kiss on the cheek before stepping back and walking outside, beginning to practice his Medical Ninjutsu.

* * *

Leave a review.


	54. Chapter 54

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Ultimatum

Ryuu closed the door and yawned, stretching. He had finally finished healing Tayuya and it was getting late. She had given as much information as she could over the last week, identities of Orochimaru's henchmen, rumors about experiments, descriptions of other prisoners, but there wasn't actually that much information that could be proven as fact. So, as soon as the sun rose, Inoichi Yamanaka, Ino's father, would be using his telepathy ninjutsu to search Tayuya's memories to verify if she was telling the truth or not. Understandably, she was not excited. Ryuu wouldn't be either. But, there wasn't much else they could do, so Ryuu headed to his and Fu's room, finding Fu already asleep.

He climbed into bed, wrapping his arms around Fu, who scooted back against him, smiling, then closed his eyes. After about two hours, however, he opened his eyes again as he heard a door close. He sighed. He was hoping she wouldn't do it, but it seemed he had been wrong. He carefully climbed out of bed and walked to the window, looking out of it as he watched Tayuya, now wearing a black cloak, quickly making her way down the street.

* * *

Tayuya carefully peeked around the corner. It was clear. She ducked her head, holding the cloak tight around her as she hurriedly walked down the street to the trees. She was close, she thought. Somewhere about a mile ahead of her should be a wall. And beyond that, she'd be out of the village. No one poking around in her mind, no more house arrest, no torture. She'd be free. She could disappear. No one would find her. Not even Orochimaru. Finally, she reached the wall, climbing up onto it and smiling. All she had to do was drop off of it, and she'd be free.

"You really are troublesome, aren't you?" a voice spoke behind her, startling her and making her spin, hurling a kunai only for Ryuu to catch it.

"What do you want?" Tayuya asked.

"You're leaving?" Ryuu asked.

"That's right," Tayuya said. "And you can't stop me!"

"Can't I?" Ryuu asked.

Tayuya's eyes narrowed. He could. And she knew it. He had fought Kimimaro one-on-one and lived to tell about it. Kimimaro would have killed her in an instant.

"I'm not going to stop you, though," Ryuu said.

"Come again?" Tayuya asked.

"You're free to leave," Ryuu said.

Tayuya eyed him suspiciously.

"However, I just want you to consider this if you do," Ryuu said. "I've tried to treat you like a friend, as much as I could, over the last few weeks. I've done my best to keep you comfortable, happy, and safe. I even convinced Lady Tsunade to allow you to become a Hidden Leaf genin in a team with me and Fu, as a test to see if you can be trusted, or if you're still loyal to Orochimaru."

"Why would you do that?" Tayuya asked.

"Because I'm an idiot," Ryuu said. "I'm a naive fool who trusts too easily and who wanted to save you."

"From what?" Tayuya scoffed. "Death? You did that. Orochimaru? Good enough. I can hide from him."

"From yourself," Ryuu said, Tayuya staring at him. "I wanted to help lead you down a better road than the one you were on. I wanted to help you find a home in the Hidden Leaf, and to help you have friends, and a family among us."

"Why?" Tayuya asked.

"Because your life was stolen from you by Orochimaru," Ryuu said. "You deserve a second chance."

Tayuya stared at him.

"However," Ryuu said. "If you set one foot beyond that wall, I'll consider you an enemy to the Hidden Leaf. And the next time we meet, I'll treat you as such. You will be captured or killed depending on your actions at that time, and then, if you are captured, you will be turned over to Ibiki. You will _not_ be given any measure of leniency the next time. But the choice is yours. You can stay and work to have a family here, or you can leave, and hope we never cross paths again."

And with that, Ryuu turned, walking away from her. Tayuya rolled her eyes and turned, preparing to drop off of the wall only to stop. He _had_ treated her well. Better than even her own family had before Orochimaru burned her village to the ground. She had never been treated so much like a friend, or like family. As she looked back on it, she had to admit that she _had_ been happy. Maybe it wasn't perfect, and maybe she _did_ contract a little cabin fever from being locked in that room for a month, but she could hardly have left the room. Even trying to stand for more than a few minutes at a time had hurt.

She looked back, able to see the lights of the village over the trees. doubt filled her mind. What if Orochimaru _could_ find her. What if she _couldn't_ disappear. She couldn't handle being locked in a cell, and she would never be able to survive being tortured again. She still had nightmares all the time from what Orochimaru had done to her, and that had been years ago. But could she handle letting someone invade her mind, the one and only place that was supposed to belong to her and only her? Ryuu's words drifted through her mind again. His claims about wanting her to have friends and a home.

"Dammit Tayuya," she sighed. "When did you get soft? You don't need them. You don't need anyone."

She looked back to the village one last time then sighed, turning and dropping off the wall.

* * *

Ryuu stretched, yawning as he sat up in bed, looking down at Fu and smiling, seeing her still sound asleep. He bent down, kissing her lightly, feeling her start to kiss him back after a moment. Ryuu continued to kiss her for a few more minutes before pulling away, Fu sighing and looking up at him.

"Time to get up," he said, standing and grabbing a set of clean clothes and a towel, walking to their room's private bathroom.

He showered quickly then pulled his underwear and pants on, walking out into the room to see Fu gathering her things for a shower, already completely nude. He blushed, looking away, and Fu walked over, smiling and kissing him before slipping past him and closing the door. He sighed, rubbing his eyes and beginning to gather everything he'd need for the day. He didn't understand why she enjoyed teasing him so much. But he would never complain about it. After all, it was her way of showing him that she loved him. Not that that would ever be in question.

He pulled his shirt and flak jacket on, putting his kunai pouch on his leg and yawned. Waking up in the middle of the night to try one last time to save Tayuya had messed with his rest cycle and now he was tired. As he finished attaching his ninja tool pouch, Fu stepped out of the bathroom, once again completely nude. He looked away, sighing, and Fu walked past him, picking up her clothes from the bed, beginning to get dressed.

"Oh don't be like that," Fu said. "I forgot my clothes. Besides, it's not like you haven't seen me naked before."

"Are you kidding?" Ryuu snorted. "You're always walking around naked in here."

"Exactly," Fu said. "So you should be used to it."

Ryuu snorted, shaking his head and walking out of the room, closing the door behind him. He walked down to the kitchen and stopped, seeing Tayuya pouring some cereal into four bowls, a jug of milk sitting beside her.

"I hope you don't mind cereal," Tayuya said. "I can't cook."

Ryuu smiled. "Cereal's fine. I'm glad you came back."

"Yeah, well, I didn't do it because of you," Tayuya said. "I just don't like the idea of having to hide from anyone, that's all."

"Of course," Ryuu smiled, pouring milk into the cereal bowls for her while she put the cereal away and got four spoons. "Are you ready for today?"

"No," Tayuya admitted. "But what choice do I have?"

"You're sure there's nothing else you want to tell us before Inoichi sees your memories?" Ryuu asked.

"Unless you want to know how many times, or for how long, Orochimaru raped me, no," Tayuya said.

"I...I didn't mean-"

"I know," Tayuya said. "There's nothing else that I can think of. I'm not saying he won't find anything he's interested in, I just can't remember anything off the top of my head."

Ryuu nodded. "Okay. I'm sure you'll do fine. And Inoichi will make it as painless as he can. He doesn't like the idea of probing around in people's heads for any longer than necessary."

Tayuya nodded as Fu and Yugao both walked into the room, seeing the cereal.

"Thanks for making breakfast Tayuya," Fu smiled.

"Yeah, thanks," Yugao smiled.

Tayuya managed a small smile and they all began to eat, finishing quickly and cleaning their plates before leaving, all four heading to the Hokage's office. From there, Tsunade led them to Torture and Interrogation where Tayuya was locked in a large metal object so that only her head was free. Then, Inoichi placed a hand on her head and she grit her teeth as he entered her mind.

* * *

Leave a review.


	55. Chapter 55

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Trial Run

Tsunade and Ryuu stood as the door opened and Inoichi stepped out, expression dark. Fu and Yugao both stood as well, all four watching Inoichi, waiting for him to speak.

"Everything she's said so far has been the truth," Inoichi said, Tsunade nodding. "I searched for any sort of loyalty to Orochimaru and...she's not. She's terrified of him. And rightly so."

"Would you say it's safe to trust her?" Tsunade asked.

"I think we should test her loyalty," Inoichi said. "But...maybe not yet. She's not...she's a bit...shaken up, right now."

"What happened?" Ryuu asked.

"While I was searching for any sign of loyalty to Orochimaru, I accidentally found a memory of her..." Inoichi trailed off, expression darker than before.

"What?" Tsunade asked. "How bad could it be?"

"I found a memory of her...being raped and tortured by Orochimaru," Inoichi said. "I tried to stop the memory from playing, but her mind...the mental scarring and the trauma she has from it...they latched onto the memory and forced my control of it out. I couldn't stop it. The things he did to her...it's amazing she's alive at all, let alone sane. Once Orochimaru was finally done, Kabuto had to spend months healing and rehabbing her."

"Kabuto?" Tsunade asked.

"He's Orochimaru's right hand," Inoichi said. "He also is the one that makes sure Orochimaru's experiments don't kill the subjects too fast. Or that Orochimaru's...hobbies, don't kill his henchmen, like that time."

"Is she okay?" Ryuu asked.

"She's...no," Inoichi said. "She was having a panic attack, and was stuck in the memory, so we put her to sleep with a genjutsu, also using one to block any dreams."

"I see," Ryuu nodded. "Lady Tsunade?"

"We'll give her a chance," Tsunade sighed. "You're going to the hideout in the Land of Rice Paddies to see if you can find any hint at Orochimaru's location. If she can prove herself loyal during the mission, she'll be allowed to stay. If not, she'll be imprisoned."

Ryuu nodded. Then, he walked into the room Inoichi had just left, kneeling in front of Tayuya and lifting her head, releasing her from the genjutsu. She began to panic instantly but he activated his Sharingan, using a weak genjutsu to calm her and make her focus on him.

"Relax, Tayuya," Ryuu said. "You're safe. It's over. He can't hurt you."

Tayuya blinked slowly before looking around and back to him, recognition setting in. She nodded and he opened the thing she was sitting in, helping her stand. She wiped her eyes and nodded.

"I'm fine," Tayuya said. "Thank you."

He nodded and they walked out of the room to the others and Tsunade filled Tayuya in on what was going to happen, and what would happen if she proved to be anything less than loyal. Tayuya agreed, but Ryuu could tell by her rigid posture that the thought of going to one of Orochimaru's hideouts terrified. Her. Still, she agreed, so a few minutes later, they were heading toward the main gate.

"Do I get any ninja tools?" Tayuya asked. "Or a flute?"

"No," Yugao said. "I don't trust you, unlike Ryuu and Fu, because I'm not naive. I don't believe that people can change allegiances that fast and yet still be trusted. So for the duration of as many missions as it takes to prove yourself loyal, you will have no ninja tools, you will not leave Ryuu's side, and you will especially get no flute."

Tayuya nodded, remaining silent.

"Oh, and if you summon your puppets, flute or no, even once, I'll take it as a sign of hostility," Yugao warned. "The same goes for activating your Curse Mark.

Tayuya nodded again as they stopped at a clothing store, Yugao instructing them to buy something that wouldn't make them look like a ninja. Instead, Ryuu changed back into his normal outfit, his tanto remaining on his shoulder. Fu opted to stay in her own outfit as well, as did Tayuya, with the exception of getting rid of the rope belt, while Yugao bought a black shirt and pants. Once they had all changed, they left the village, heading North toward the Land of Rice Paddies. Ryuu sighed. Apparently, the whole, trust is a two way street, thing didn't quite make it to Yugao. As they traveled, Yugao collected their headbands, throwing Tayuya's away, and stored them in a scroll. After a few more minutes, they reached the Land of Rice Paddies' border, and a couple hours later, they stopped as they reached a run-down village that looked completely abandoned.

"This place...is trashed," Ryuu said. "What should we do?"

"Let's head inside," Yugao said. "We'll try and find some information from anyone that's still living here. The bar would probably be the best place to start."

Ryuu nodded, the four of them walking into the town. Ryuu looked around carefully, sensing people in all of the houses, watching them. Finally, they reached the bar and Yugao turned to them.

"Start knocking on doors and see what information you can find," Yugao said. "Try to keep your shinobi status hidden."

"Okay," Ryuu nodded.

Yugao walked into the bar and Ryuu and Fu walked to opposite sides of the street, Tayuya obediently following Ryuu. House after house, everyone completely ignored the three of them. So, after the first row, they walked away from the main street to the next row. Ryuu knocked on the first door and motioned for Tayuya to go and knock on the second. She nodded, walking toward it. Ryuu sighed, turning to follow her just as the door flew open and something solid cracked him over the back of the head. He went down hard, groaning. He turned his head slowly, pain lancing through it, and looked toward Tayuya, seeing her being grabbed and restrained by almost a dozen men, all of them already ripping her clothes off of her. Tayuya was screaming and sobbing, trying to fight back, but was having a panic attack due to her memories and couldn't muster the strength even to defend herself.

Ryuu grit his teeth against the pain, shoving himself up and raising a hand to his wound, numbing the wound. Then, he leapt over the railing of the porch he was on, clearing the gap between himself and the group of men molesting Tayuya, greeting them by kicking one man in the side of the head and launching him into a wall, knocking him out. The others instantly dropped Tayuya, grabbing pipes and boards, turning to fight Ryuu only for him to quickly drop them all in the span of time it took them to realize he had moved. Once he had knocked them all out, he knelt beside Tayuya, pulling her into a hug and unsealing a cloak from a scroll in his ninja tool pouch, wrapping it around her. Fu arrived a moment later, stopping as she saw Tayuya's shredded clothing on the ground and said nothing.

After a few minutes, Tayuya was calm enough to stand and Ryuu pulled her up, unsealing a pair of blue pants and a blue shirt from another scroll then turning away so she could change. While she did, Fu healed Ryuu's head for him.

"Done," Tayuya said, barely above a whisper.

Ryuu nodded and they left the back street they were on, heading back to the bar just as Yugao walked out of it, a group of thugs inside all lying unconscious on the floor.

"Time to leave," Yugao said. "What happened to you?"

"A group of villagers tried to rape her," Ryuu said. "I had to put them down."

"Did anyone die?" Yugao asked.

Ryuu shook his head and she nodded.

"Okay," Yugao said. "Let's keep moving."

Ryuu nodded and they all walked away from the village, heading a short distance to a signpost and stopping for a lunch break. It was a little after noon and they hadn't had much for breakfast, so Ryuu had packed a relatively big lunch. He had a large bowl of Fu's leftover ramen, rice balls, sandwiches, and a fresh cake, just for fun. Everyone smiled when they saw all of the food he pulled out of a scroll, even Tayuya.

"Why does it not surprise me that you packed enough food for several days as one meal?" Yugao asked.

"There's plenty of food for us to last a month in this scroll," Ryuu said. "Dig in."

Just then, he spun, drawing his tanto and deflecting several kunai, kicking one of them back into the bushes and forcing their attacker to leap out of them. It was a girl wearing a cloth full-face mask leaving her eyes as the only thing not hidden, an orange ponytail sticking up out of a hole in the back, a loose purple vest that almost hid the fact that she was a girl, a pair of dark green shorts, white yellow socks halfway up her shins, and sandals the same color as her vest. She also didn't seem much older than them, or very strong at all.

She drew four kunai and Ryuu smirked, putting his tanto away. She lowered her hand a fraction of an inch, confusion showing in her eyes.

"Judging by the fact that you're not overly powerful, I'd be willing to bet you don't work for Orochimaru, which means you thought we do," Ryuu said, the girl staring at him. "Actually, we're here to find him, or any information leading to him. If you could help, we'd really appreciate it, Miss..."

She blinked twice before lowering her hand and putting the kunai away. "How did...forget this!"

She slammed a smoke bomb down and Ryuu sighed, sitting back down.

"Oh well," Ryuu said. "I'm sure we'll see her again."

"Most likely," Yugao nodded. "Once we've eaten, we better put some distance between ourselves and the town."

Ryuu nodded in agreement. They all ate in silence before Ryuu sealed the various plates and bowls into the scroll again, putting it away. Then, they all turned North and continued on their way.

* * *

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	56. Chapter 56

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Rescue

Ryuu watched as a drunk man bumped into a sober one, who promptly punched him, dragged him into a building off to the side, then hurled him out through the window a moment later with nothing but his underwear left. He sighed.

"Jeez," Ryuu sighed. "This town may not be trashed and rundown like the last one, but it's even worse than the last one."

Yugao nodded. "I want you all to head to the other side of town and wait for me outside of it. I'll look around town and see if I can learn anything."

"Shouldn't I do it?" Ryuu asked. "I may be a child but I can defend myself against anything these guys throw at me. On the other hand, I'm the only one in our group who no one in the town will try to rape."

Tayuya tensed but Yugao shook her head.

"I'll be fine, Ryuu," Yugao said. "Have some faith in me. I'm not letting anyone rape me. Now go to the other side of town and wait for me like I said."

Ryuu nodded and Yugao walked away, Ryuu and the others leaving town on the far side and waiting a little ways down the road. Just s they stopped, their would-be attacker from the last town tumbled out of the bushes, landing on her hands and knees before clutching at her right shoulder. Ryuu walked over, kneeling in front of her and beginning to heal her, only for her to scramble away from him, drawing a kunai in her left hand.

"I was only trying to heal you," Ryuu said, hands raised.

The girl glared at him suspiciously just before several dozen kunai flew out of the trees. Tayuya and Fu scattered instantly, Ryuu flipping over the girl and grabbing her left arm, hurling her. Then, he used the Body Flicker Technique to avoid a barrage of kunai, catching the girl and turning toward where the kunai had come from. Suddenly, one man with a brown shirt, light blue pants, dark blue hair parted in the middle, and a massive pair of sheers for a weapon appeared beside Ryuu, moving to slash him and the girl, only for Ryuu to step off of his hand, slamming his other foot into the man's head and doing a back-flip, landing on his feet and smirking. As they landed, he looked to the side where Fu was fending off a bald man with similar clothes to Ryuu's opponent, and a scar up through his right eye. Ryuu looked back at his opponent just as the sheers snapped closed on him and the girl. The man chuckled for a moment before the falling halves of both Ryuu and the girl burst into a flock of crows. At the same time, both Fu and Tayuya dissolved into crows as well.

Ryuu sighed as he turned away from the bald man, having finished placing both of them in a Genjutsu together, and turned back to the path, following Fu and Tayuya as they put a bit of distance between themselves and their failed attackers. They soon found a building on the side of the road, one that sat at the top of a large wooden platform with stairs leading up to it. Ryuu leapt over the stairs to the front door and slid it open with his foot, stepping inside and setting the girl on the ground. She had passed out at some point, so Ryuu gently lay her down as Fu and Tayuya walked in. As they did, the girl stirred, jumping away from them, eyes narrowed.

"Relax," Ryuu said. "We're not going to hurt you. We need to treat your wound before it gets any worse. If you would prefer, I can wait outside and Fu can do it."

The girl stared at him for a moment before nodding. Ryuu nodded as well and slid the door open, motioning for Tayuya to follow before stepping outside. He slid the door closed behind him and leaned on the railing, watching the trees below them.

"Will your master be able to find us here?" Tayuya asked.

"Who, Yugao?" Ryuu asked. "Easily. She taught me to sense chakra, so I left a trail of breadcrumbs for her to follow."

"Couldn't those guys that attacked us follow them to?" Tayuya asked.

"I'm sure those three know where we are anyway," Ryuu said.

"Three?" Tayuya blinked.

"There was one watching from underground," Ryuu said. "It's not a big deal. We'll deal with them when they arrive. Until then, there's really nothing to worry about."

"If you say so," Tayuya said. "So, who is this girl?"

"My best bet is that she's related to someone Orochimaru kidnapped and wants to save them," Ryuu said. "She probably thought we were working for Orochimaru and attacked us because of it."

"You're right," a voice behind them said, both turning to find the doors open and the girl standing there, mask removed to reveal long orange hair, reaching her waist. "My name is Sasame Fuma. The person you are referring to is my cousin, Arashi."

Ryuu nodded, motioning for her to head inside and following with Tayuya. The four of them sat in a circle, Ryuu facing the door so that he could react first if anyone unwelcome arrived.

"So, why were our three friends after you?" Ryuu asked.

Sasame began her explanation with a history lesson, explaining that the Feudal Lord of the Land of Rice Paddies went to war with the neighboring countries but lost, resulting in the shinobi clans of the small nation falling into poverty. Many abandoned the Land of Rice Paddies altogether, while others stooped to thievery. Then, she said that an emissary of the Hidden Sound Village had arrived, promising a Hidden Village to be formed in the Land of Rice Paddies, allowing the shinobi clans to return to their former glory. They said that the Hidden Sound Village needed volunteers to serve, and that her cousin had been one of those selected. But then, the shinobi selected had never returned, and no word had ever come from the Hidden Sound Village.

"Don't worry," Ryuu smiled. "If you help us reached the Hidden Sound Village, we'll get your cousin back."

Sasame stared at him in surprise before nodding. Then, Ryuu sighed.

"I think we've overstayed out welcome," Ryuu said.

"Why?" Tayuya asked.

"Look up," Ryuu said.

Tayuya and Sasame both looked, eyes widening as they saw the hundreds of thousands of spiders swarming around on the ceiling. Ryuu inhaled, then looked up, launching a massive fireball that exploded against the spiders, obliterating them all, along with the roof. He and Fu leapt to the top of the wall, looking around outside at the webs covering literally everything for a ways.

"Ninja Art, Wind Spiders," a voice said from all around them. "My babies have spun a trail of the purest silk, and led me right to you. The four of you together shall take our secrets with you to the depths of darkness." He began to laugh and Ryuu rolled his eyes.

"Your spiders don't scare me," Ryuu said. "I met someone else who could summon spiders and who was about five times more terrifying than you. His webbing was practically unbreakable."

"Is that right?" the voice asked. "Well, it's a shame he's not here. I'd love to see which spiders were superior."

"Definitely his," Tayuya said, landing on the wall opposite Fu, Sasame landing on the last wall.

"Born to be born," a deep voice said from all around them. "Breathing but to live. One sunrise and one sunset. Kagero's life, like a mayfly, lasts a single day, but pitying one so ephemeral is, in itself, pitiable. Know that I am at my greatest when lying in the deep and dark of the earth."

The ground began to shake, the building they were on pitching to the side and beginning to tilt dangerously. As it did, a head grew from the ground, which began to sink around it instantly.

"Ninja Art, Antlion Jutsu!" the voice shouted.

The pit rapidly grew until the tower was caught and fell inward. As rocks and trees reached the center, they were dragged under around the person that Ryuu assumed was Kagero, and crushed somewhere below ground. Ryuu and the others leapt off of the building, landing on the side of the pit and beginning to be dragged in. Ryuu formed a shadow clone, who leapt off of Ryuu's foot, and fell at Kagero, forcing him to leap out of the way of a punch before the clone exploded into smoke. As soon as Kagero was airborne, Fu extended her wings, shooting into the air and slamming a punch into Kagero's gut, launching him skyward. Then, she flew down, grabbing the other three and hurling Ryuu at Kagero. Ryuu inhaled, forming hand seals, then, as he reached Kagero, blasted him at point blank range with a Pressure Damage, sending him exploding into a boulder and shattering it. Then, the other two appeared, grabbing Kagero and fleeing. Ryuu flipped, landing beside the pit and walked over to Fu and the others as Yugao arrived. Except, she wasn't alone. Jiraiya, Sakura, and Naruto were all there as well.

"What are you three doing here?" Ryuu asked.

"We were sent to aid you," Jiraiya said. "Hope you don't mind."

"Mind, no," Ryuu said. "Necessary, also no."

"Well, I think it might have been," Jiraiya said. "If I hadn't shown up when I did, your beautiful sensei would have had to blow her cover."

"Oh really?" Ryuu asked. "Why's that?"

"A group of fifty odd bandits decided she looked like an excellent target," Jiraiya said. "She was about to teach them not to mess with her but I intervened and took them down for her. Then, when they found out who I was, they were more than happy to tell me everything they knew."

"Anything useful?" Ryuu asked.

"Only that they were from the Fuma clan, and that their leader's name was Hanzaki or something like that," Jiraiya said. "Sadly, he didn't know where the Hidden Sound Village was."

"Hanzaki and his men are traitors to the Fuma clan," Sasame spoke up. "If you're sure about trying to find the Hidden Sound Village, I can take you there."

"Yes please," Ryuu nodded.

Sasame nodded, turning and beginning to lead them away from the village, the others all following.

* * *

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	57. Chapter 57

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Infiltration

Ryuu watched as the clones all fell over. He had been a little let down when Sasame tried to poison them all, but as the two unwounded Sound Village Ninja that had been pestering them arrived and Sasame asked if they would take her to Arashi now, he couldn't really blame her. Then, the one with the sheers smashed them into her, knocking her out and sending her flying. Naruto caught her, being the first one to reveal himself, then Ryuu appeared opposite them, blocking their escape. The others all appeared around them, the two Hidden Sound Ninja looking around in confusion, then at the sleeping clones, who all exploded into smoke.

"Oh I see," the one with the sheers said. "Clones. Alright, we'll deal with you ourselves."

"I'd love to see you try it," Ryuu smirked.

The ninja shot forward, only for Ryuu to appear under him, smashing a foot into the underside of his jaw. Then, Ryuu leapt into the air, grabbing him by the back of the shirt and spinning around once before hurling him into the ground head-first. The other ninja, probably the one who controlled spiders, was about to attack Ryuu when Jiraiya appeared, slamming a Rasengan into his gut and launching him backward. He crashed to the ground and bounced and rolled along before slowing to a stop. Ryuu kicked his own opponent to that one before leaning backward, avoiding several kunai from Kagero, who was standing on a boulder off to one side.

"It is time, the antlion appears from beneath the earth, and spreads its wings for only a brief moment," Kagero said. "And with its birth, the Kagero you know dies."

Suddenly, he began to swell, lowering his head as his entire body, including his clothes, turned a dull brown, like an insect's shed skin, or a dried up cocoon. Then, his back split open and chakra began to flood out, companied by the chirping of insects. Then, the chakra began to fade, four chakra wings unfolding from around a small girl with an off-white dress and shoulder-length green hair, the four chakra wings spreading from her back and keeping her airborne. Ryuu stared at them in awe.

"It's...possible?" Ryuu breathed.

"Focus Ryuu," Jiraiya said. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Ryuu nodded, shifting his attention to the girl the wings were extended from, activating his Sharingan. The girl looked up at them, revealing a light purple metal band around her neck and dull, dark purple eyes.

"Lord Orochimaru has promised that our clan will spread its wings in the sun once again," the girl said. "But for that to happen, I must sacrifice all. I must perform the ninja art I can perform but once in a lifetime."

The wings beat once, sending her up into the air where she began to form hand seals.

"Kagero's Ninja Art, Ephemeral," Kagero said.

Suddenly, the wings shot out, combining into a beam of pure chakra. Ryuu leapt backward, Jiraiya leaping to the side, and the blast crashed down where they had been, shattering the ground but missing them. As they looked up at her, Ryuu noticed that her wings had chunks missing from them, and he could sense that her chakra was fading quickly.

"I believed him," Kagero said, beginning to glow. "I thought it was for the good of the clan. I wanted to believe."

Then, she shot downward, the chakra around her hitting the other two and scattering, all three vanishing as it did. Ryuu stood, looking around and back at Sasame. She was still unconscious. He walked over just as Naruto turned to Tayuya. He had been waiting for this. The entire time he'd been with them, he hadn't said a word to her. But now that they had a moment to rest, it was inevitable that he would have words for her.

"You look really familiar," Naruto said, Ryuu face palming and shaking his head. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

"Are you some kind of idiot or something?" Tayuya asked.

"You could say that," Ryuu said, Sakura nodding in agreement.

"Hey, that's not very nice!" Naruto said. "Just who the hell are you anyway?"

Tayuya stared at the ground for a long while before speaking. "I'm Tayuya. I was a member of the Sound Four who were sent by Lord Orochimaru to escort Sasuke back to Orochimaru. I'm the one you took the coffin back from before Kimimaro stole it from you."

"Oh yeah," Naruto said. "You do look kind of familiar. Hey wait!"

"You're one of Orochimaru's goons!?" Sakura gaped, both drawing kunai and readying themselves.

"I must be missing something," Jiraiya said. "Perhaps you could explain why she's here right now."

"She's been given a second chance by Tsunade," Ryuu said. "She was placed on a team with myself and Fu as a sort of test run to see if she can be trusted. If she can, she's to be allowed to join the Hidden Leaf Village."

"Is that so?" Jiraiya asked. "I notice she doesn't have any tools or weapons. Is she not doing well?"

"Yugao doesn't trust her enough to give her any," Ryuu said. "So far Tayuya has given no reasons not to trust her."

"I see," Jiraiya nodded. "In order for someone to gain your trust, you first have to give it to them."

"That's what I said," Ryuu nodded.

"We can't trust her!" Sakura said. "She works for Orochimaru!"

"No," Ryuu said. "Orochimaru used to torture and rape her."

Everyone stared at him, then at Tayuya, who stared at the ground.

"When she had the option to end it by becoming his bodyguard, she took it, just like anyone would," Ryuu said.

"Except it never stopped," Tayuya said, visibly shaking. "I couldn't leave. If I had, he'd have found me and..."

"She served him out of fear, not loyalty," Ryuu said. "That's why I think she deserves a chance at having a life not serving under Orochimaru."

"You really were afraid of him?" Naruto asked.

"Yes," Tayuya said. "More than anything else in the world."

"I suppose she _does_ deserve a second chance then," Sakura said. "I'm not saying I trust you, but I can at least understand."

"Thank you," Tayuya said.

"Come on," Ryuu said. "Kagero took the others this way."

He began to lead, extending his senses as far as he could and the others followed.

* * *

Ryuu watched the entrance to Orochimaru's hideout. He hadn't been able to follow Kagero all the way there. Only get them heading in the right direction. After that, Sasame had woken up and had apologized. Once they had convinced her that there were no hard feelings, she had led them the rest of the way.

"So, who wants to knock?" Ryuu asked.

"I'll go first," Yugao said.

"Hold on," Jiraiya said. "Eight big rats will undoubtedly trip the alarms. Why don't we send in a critter that won't first."

"Good idea," Ryuu nodded, whistling.

After a moment, a brown owl landed on his shoulder. He smiled, stroking its head before pointing to the entrance.

"Can you fly ahead of us and look for traps?" Ryuu asked.

The owl hooted and took off, flying to the entrance and circling, waiting for them. They all walked over, the owl heading inside ahead of them.

"You can control birds?" Jiraiya asked.

"Birds just naturally listen to me," Ryuu shrugged.

As they walked down the fairly cramped hallway, the owl never got more than a few meters ahead of them. Soon, they came to a winding staircase and the owl dropped back to a couple feet in front of Ryuu. Then, they reached the bottom and it landed, three tunnels leaving the room they had found themselves in. Ryuu knelt and stroked the owl's head.

"Thank you for taking us this far," Ryuu said. "You can head on home now."

The owl hooted and turned, fling back out of the hideout as they all turned to the tunnels. Jiraiya was arguing with Naruto and Sakura about his method of choosing a path, setting the end of a pole on the ground and taking the path it pointed to when it fell. Ryuu stepped up beside them.

"Enough," Ryuu said. "Jiraiya, since you're the strongest, you go right alone. Sakura, you Naruto, Sasame, and Fu go straight. Tayuya, Yugao, and myself will all go left."

"Isn't your team a little stacked?" Naruto asked.

"Because Tayuya has to stay with me as per Yugao's orders, and Yugao has to stay with Tayuya as per Tsunade's orders," Ryuu said. "If you want to complain, you're welcome to spend some quality time with Jiraiya."

Naruto shook his head vigorously.

"That's what I thought," Ryuu said. "Everyone be careful."

They all nodded and Fu gave Ryuu a quick kiss before walking into her tunnel, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasame following, Jiraiya taking his own tunnel. Ryuu turned to Yugao, who nodded.

"I'll lead," Yugao said.

The others fell in line, Ryuu behind Yugao and Tayuya behind him, as they walked down the hallway. They remained silent, all eyes scanning the walls, ceiling and floors. Ryuu felt tense. He was certain they should have run into either some traps or some Hidden Sound Shinobi by now. Suddenly, Tayuya grabbed him from behind, her hand plunging into his Ninja Tool pouch and yanking out a kunai. Then, she yanked him backward, making him bend over and hurled it at Yugao. The kunai passed within an inch of the front of Yugao's face, making her leap backward. Then, in the blink of an eye, Yugao had Tayuya against the wall, her sword to her throat, but from where Ryuu had fallen, he could see something Yugao hadn't, which Tayuya obviously had.

"I knew you couldn't be trusted!" Yugao snarled. "Now you'll die!"

"Yugao stop!" Ryuu shouted, Yugao looking over at him. "Look."

He pilled a round smoke bomb out of his pouch and rolled it down the hallway, past where Yugao had been when she jumped backward. Not even a foot beyond where Tayuya had stopped her, the floor suddenly opened up, the smoke bomb dropping as it did. Yugao set Tayuya on her feet, staring at the hole that had smoke coming out of it now. They walked over, looking down as the smoke cleared, seeing bamboo spikes at the bottom, each coated in a thick purple fluid that Ryuu could instantly guess was poison.

"She saved you," Ryuu said.

Yugao said nothing, pulling the kunai out of the wall and handing it back to Ryuu, who put it away.

"The hideout I was in had a lot of these trap floors," Tayuya said. "But it looks like it should be safe on the other side."

"Maybe you should lead, since you know what traps to look for," Yugao said.

Tayuya nodded, backing up then sprinting forward, leaping across the gap. As she landed, she rolled forward, tensing as she stopped and looked around. Nothing. Ryuu leapt across next, landing beside Tayuya and also looking around. He nodded to Yugao who jumped across as well. From there, they continued with Tayuya in the front, Ryuu behind her, and Yugao bringing up the rear, kunai in hand and ready to kill Tayuya at a moment's notice. After a few hundred meters, Tayuya pointed out a trip wire and they all carefully avoided it, then a few hundred feet after it was a pressure plate. Finally, they reached a large set of double doors, a second hallway coming from off to the side. Fu and the others walked over from that one, Naruto and Sakura both looking like they had run a mile in under two minutes.

"Are they okay?" Ryuu asked.

"We had some trouble with a trap door," Fu said.

"We almost did too," Ryuu said. "Tayuya saved Yugao."

Fu smiled at Tayuya and nodded, then looked to the door. As they turned to it, the left door swung open slowly.

"We're being invited in," Ryuu said. "I suppose we might as well not keep them waiting."

Fu nodded and they walked into the room together, the others following. Inside, the room was nearly pitch black, a row of sconces on the sides of pillars lighting a path along the middle of the room, but the rest remained in complete darkness. They couldn't tell how big the room was. But the torches went for a few hundred meters, and the pillars, from what they could see, were at least a hundred feet high. Ryuu and the others scattered into the shadows, Ryuu sinking into the ground and moving to the side of a pillar, far above the sconce, up where the light ended.

"You all certainly took your time getting here," a familiar voice said from somewhere in the shadows.

Ryuu's eyes narrowed as he watched from his spot in the pillar as Kabuto stepped out of the shadows, smiling as he looked around.

"My, there certainly are a lot of you," Kabuto said.

"Kabuto, what are you doing here?" Ryuu asked, Kabuto looking around, trying to find him.

"Is that Ryuu Uchiha?" Kabuto asked.

"It is," Ryuu said.

"Ah, I see," Kabuto nodded. "Well, I suppose I won't be needing this disguise then."

He reached up to his face, pulling and ripping his skin, along with his clothes and hair, off and throwing them away. In his place was Kagero. Ryuu narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, I see," Ryuu said. "So it's you again. And here I thought that jutsu you attacked us with killed you."

"It was supposed to," Kagero said. "However, Kabuto Yakushi healed me before he left to follow Orochimaru and that boy."

"You saw Sasuke?" Ryuu asked.

"They were here for several weeks while Kabuto treated the boy's injuries," Kagero said. "Then they left as soon as the boy was healed. However, Kabuto stayed behind in order to ensure things proceeded as planned. I don't know what plan it was he was working on, but he certainly was not serving Orochimaru."

"Excuse me?" Ryuu asked.

"Kabuto Yakushi revealed to me that Orochimaru had betrayed our clan," Kagero said. "He stole our jutsu and never mean to restore our clan. We were nothing but tools to be used in Orochimaru's experiments. Orochimaru has been using us the entire time. When Kamakiri and Jigumo pleaded with what they thought to be Orochimaru in order to have him save me, the false Orochimaru killed them both."

" _False_ Orochimaru?" Ryuu asked. "Then who is it? And how long ago did Kabuto leave?"

"He left about two hours ago," Kagero said. "You just missed him."

"We could still pick up his trail!" Naruto cheered.

"No," Jiraiya said. "The trail will have gone cold by now. Especially as careful as Kabuto is."

"You never said who the false Orochimaru is," Ryuu said.

"It's Arashi," Kagero said.

"Arashi's alive!?" Sasame gasped.

"Is that Sasame?" Kagero asked, surprise showing on her face. "I see. You've been searching for him, haven't you? You and your cousin were always so close to one another, weren't you? It would be better if you didn't see him now. He's not the Arashi you knew. He's changed."

"He's still my cousin!" Sasame said.

Ryuu grew out of the pillar, dropping to the ground before Kagero and stood. "What will you do now?"

"I will take Sasame to her cousin, if that is her wish," Kagero said. "Or, I can take her to safety."

"Take her to Hanzaki," Yugao said, stepping out of cover. "He can look after her. But don't leave her alone with his men."

Kagero nodded as the others began to step out of cover as well.

"No," Sasame said. "I have to see Arashi."

"Very well," Kagero nodded. "He is through that door."

She gestured to a large metal double door off to her right, and Ryuu walked over to it, reaching out to open it only for it to swing open on its own, Orochimaru walking toward them.

"It's good of you to come, Sasame," Orochimaru said.

"Arashi?" Sasame asked. "Is that you?"

Orochimaru reached up, pulling on his head and pulling it off like a mask, leaving a man with silver hair that hugged his head. He pulled Orochimaru's clothes off too, leaving him in a yellow shirt, a black vest, black forearm warmers, a pair of baggy jeans, and a pair of sandals.

"Arashi!" Sasame shouted, running forward to hug him, only to stop as he held out a hand. "What's wrong Arashi?"

"You're mistaken," Arashi said. "I'm not the Arashi you knew."

Ryuu sensed his chakra suddenly spike and grabbed Sasame, leaping away from him as his skin turned the color of rust, his back suddenly writhing beneath his shirt. Then, his shirt exploded off, a bulging mass of flesh growing out of Arashi's back. As it finished growing, Jigumo and Kamakiri's faces grew out of the mass of flesh on the sides.

"The bodies and skills of the Fuma Clan's strongest jonin have joined, and I have been reborn as the ultimate shinobi," Arashi spoke, his eyes completely white and a wide, sadistic, insane grin covering his face. "Now, let me show you the most powerful Ninjutsu you've ever seen, Sasame."

"Arashi, what have you done to yourself?" Sasame breathed.

"Orochimaru you lousy snake!" Naruto snarled. "I won't forgive him for this no matter what!"

"Is this what you meant when you said Arashi had changed?" Ryuu asked Kagero.

"No," Kagero said. "I didn't know about this. I just meant that he wasn't the kind child she remembered."

"Right," Ryuu nodded. "Alright. I'll take him first. Everyone watch him for any weaknesses and to figure out his patterns."

Everyone nodded and Ryuu activated his Sharingan. Before he could move, however, Sasame grabbed his arm.

"You're not really going to fight him are you?" Sasame asked.

"Sasame, this isn't your cousin," Ryuu said. "It's a test subject of Orochimaru. An amalgam of three corpses, fused together and reanimated for the sole purpose of killing. Arashi is gone."

"No!" Sasame said, stepping past Ryuu only for him to spin her, placing her under a genjutsu and tossing her to Sakura, who ran behind a pillar with her.

Suddenly, Jigumo's face shot outward, a massive grotesque upper body forming under it, connecting it to Arashi. Ryuu drew his tanto as Arashi leapt forward, Jigumo stretching outward in a blur and punching at him. Ryuu flipped over him, stepping off of his back and leaping onto a pillar. Arashi landed beside Jigumo, skidding around and to a stop before leaping at him again. Ryuu leapt off the pillar ahead of another punch and Jigumo turned, spitting out webbing that wrapped around Ryuu's leg, then around his body, cocooning him in seconds.

"What did I say about your pathetic spiders!?" Ryuu shouted, channeling chakra into his tanto and cutting himself free, flipping and landing on the side of a pillar as Arashi leapt at him again.

He flipped over the punch, slashing Jigumo as he passed, blood spraying out of the wound behind Ryuu as Ryuu split him from Jigumo's shoulder to Arashi's hip. Then, Ryuu flipped, landing on his feet and leaping backward, Jigumo's fist cratering the ground, barely missing Ryuu.

"Be careful!" Sakura shouted.

"I know!" Ryuu shouted back, drawing his trench knife as Kamakiri began to grow a body as well, Arashi laughing.

Kamakiri's right arm grew Kamakiri's sheer blades and he lunged, getting them around Ryuu before Ryuu could jump away, only for the sheer blades to crash into Ryuu's tanto and trench knife, stopping. Ryuu grit his teeth as he struggled against the monster's massive strength. Finally, he shoved the blades upward, dropping onto his back as they snapped closed over him, then sank into the floor just ahead of Jigumo's fist, barely escaping. Arashi spun instantly Jigumo spraying his webs at the others, who scattered. Ryuu grew out of the floor behind Arashi and shot forward, dropping into a slide and removing both of Arashi's legs. All three faces screamed in agony, falling onto their backs as Ryuu stood and turned, hurling his tanto into the air and putting his trench knife away forming hand seals.

"Fire Style, Giant Fireball Jutsu!" Ryuu shouted, exhaling a fireball onto Arashi, the fire spreading to Jigumo and Kamakiri as well instantly.

"You got him!" Naruto cheered.

"Look out!" Fu shouted.

Ryuu swore using the Body Flicker Technique to flee, still being hurled away from the body as it exploded. He flipped, crashing down hard beside Fu, then pushed himself up, staring into the flames as a laugh rang out. Then, his gut dropped as a sword he recognized all too well appeared in the center of the flames.

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	58. Chapter 58

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Him Again

Ryuu watched as the flames slowly died down, revealing the blue demon-themed katana and the man holding it, the same that Ryuu had killed twice now. Fu recognized him too, and drew her own tanto and the silver kunai he had given her, Ryuu's eyes flicking to his tanto, stabbed into the floor halfway between himself and Mhao.

"Who is this guy?" Naruto asked.

"Stay back," Ryuu said. "His name's Mhao. He's an expert in Kenjutsu and has powerful Fire Style Ninjutsu. I've also killed him twice now."

"But that's impossible," Sakura said. "You must not have killed him."

"He decapitated him and burned him both times," Fu said. "And before you ask, no, he doesn't have any brothers."

"Why are you here Mhao?" Ryuu asked.

"I told you, I want to kill you," Mhao said, walking to Ryuu's tanto and ripping it out of the ground, tossing it to Ryuu, who caught it, eyeing Mhao suspiciously. "But don't worry. It won't be nearly as boring this time. I brought friends with me this time."

Ryuu's mouth fell open as more pale-skinned, white-haired shinobi began to step out of the shadows, coming out from behind pillars. There was a vast array of weapons, and a massive number of enemies. And as if that wasn't enough, Arashi suddenly stood from where he had been lying behind Mhao. His body was blackened at first, but Jigumo and Kamakiri twisted together then shot back before stopping, shaking all of the soot and ash off of their disgusting body, leaving them virtually unharmed.

"Dammit," Ryuu growled. "This is going to end very badly for us."

"How strong are they?" Yugao asked.

"Each is between roughly mid to high chunin, maybe low jonin," Ryuu said. "And Mhao used Fire Style Uroboros last time."

"Great," Yugao sighed, drawing her sword. "Okay. Who's dealing with what?"

"Naruto, can you handle Arashi?" Ryuu asked.

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. "No problem."

"Good," Ryuu nodded. "Tayuya, you and Sakura keep Sasame safe. This is going to be very unpleasant."

Tayuya nodded and she and Sakura ran to where Sasame was hidden. Then, Ryuu shot forward, flames rolling off of his tanto as it crashed into Mhao's sword, Mhao's blue flames fighting against Ryuu's instantly. Ryuu almost instantly lost track of everyone else as he shoved Mhao's sword away and they began to leap around the room, slashing at each other as well as launching fireballs and arcs of flame at each other whenever they were too far away to use their blades. An explosion rang out on Ryuu's left at one point and a pale arm sailed past him. Then, he leapt at Mhao, their blades clashing, and Mhao flipped backward, kicking Ryuu away. As Ryuu flipped, another explosion rang out and Naruto sailed past him, flipping and landing on a pillar before sprinting down it and back at Arashi, forming multiple clones as he did.

Ryuu leapt to the side as Mhao crashed into the pillar where he had been and slashing rapidly, several arcs of flame exploding against the pillar, Mhao having escaped. Then, as he landed on another pillar, he sensed Tailed Beast Chakra. Mhao stopped as he landed on a pillar as well, both looking toward the source and seeing Fu, wielding a khakkhara having reddish orange chakra flowing off of her as she absolutely demolished several of the pale shinobi. Several would leap at her at a time and she would smash them away, spinning the khakkhara expertly and fending off six attackers at once. As Ryuu watched, the khakkhara snapped in half as one of the shinobi blocked it with a massively over-sized sword with a rectangular blade. Fu didn't miss a beat and stepped forward, driving the broken end of what she still held onto into the shinobi's heart, hurling him and drawing her tanto and kunai again, flipping over another shinobi and lopping off his head with the tanto.

"Die!" Mhao shouted, only for Ryuu to spin and slash his sword aside, slamming his foot into Mhao's gut and launching him into the ceiling.

He flipped to the ground just as Kamakiri's sheers spun through the air, blasting through multiple pillars before flying back toward Arashi. Ryuu flicked his wrist, a water whip forming and catching the sheers, swinging them around and driving the blades down into the back of a shinobi who had been charging at Sakura and Tayuya instead, killing him. Then, he flipped sideways away from Mhao, Mhao sending out a massive explosion of blue flames, hurling Ryuu away. At the same time, Naruto crashed along the ground, stopping beside Ryuu in a glowing, rainbow, triangle pyramid of transparent chakra, shouting in pain as it slowly shrunk. Ryuu looked to Arashi, seeing Arashi's hands in a triangle as Jigumo and Kamakiri watched. Behind Arashi, Yugao was struggling to fend off eight of the pale shinobi, all wielding different weapons, and behind her, Fu, holding her own against seven, reinforcements seemingly having come to her other opponents aid.

"Don't forget about me as you try to plan a way out of this," Mhao said, walking toward him, sword resting on his shoulder. "Forget it. You're not escaping this time. There's just too many of us."

Ryuu glanced past Mhao, eyes falling on Tayuya, and he smirked. She was exactly what they needed. Ryuu sprinted at Mhao, blocking his first slash and shoving it to the side, slashing at Mhao and making him flip over Ryuu. Then, just as he did, Ryuu's free hand hurled a flute from his ninja tool pouch at Tayuya before he spun, drawing his trench knife and blocking Mhao's blade, skidding backward.

"Tayuya!" Ryuu shouted, Tayuya snapping out of the fact that he had trusted her enough to not only give him a weapon, but a flute. "Now!"

"Demonic Flute, Chains of Fantasia!" Tayuya shouted before beginning to play the flute.

Ryuu grit his teeth, hoping he hadn't just made a huge mistake. However, as Mhao moved to attack him again, Mhao suddenly went rigid, ceasing to move. Then, in an invisible wave spreading through the room, all of their enemies halted similarly, even Arashi. Ryuu sighed in relief. Then, suddenly, a massive, blindingly white explosion erupted from the barrier Naruto had been in. It began to spread rapidly, blasting pillars apart as it went. However, it stopped before reaching anyone else, and faded, Naruto standing and dusting himself off.

"You okay?" Ryuu asked.

"Yeah," Naruto nodded, looking around. "Shall we?"

"Get them!" Ryuu shouted.

He sped forward, splitting Mhao up the middle before exhaling a Vacuum Blade onto his tanto and spinning, slashing rapidly and cutting Mhao into countless pieces before smashing the sword, hilt and all, into almost as many pieces. He looked around, seeing Fu standing in a circle of corpses, and Yugao finishing off the last of her opponents. Then, he looked to Naruto, watching as he formed a Rasengan with a clone, then charged, slamming it into Arashi and blasting him backward into a pillar as Tayuya lowered the flute. Instantly, both Jigumo and Kamakiri's faces began to scream in agony, chakra exploding out of their eyes and mouths. Then, Arashi coughed, blood splattering out of his mouth as his body returned to looking human.

"Arashi!" Sasame gasped, running toward him. He smiled, pushing himself up and hugging her as she reached him. "Hold on! They're medical ninja! They can heal you!"

"No," Arashi said. "Even if they did, look. The jutsu is already beginning to regenerate."

Sasame looked, seeing Jigumo and Kamakiri's bodies clutching at his legs. Just then, the ground shook, the ceiling began to crack before massive chunks began to fall. Before anyone could be hit, a massive blue and yellow toad appeared, smashing the stones already falling.

"Pervy Sage!" Naruto shouted.

"Sorry I took so long, I was a bit held up," Jiraiya said. "Though, it looks like you all had a worse time of it."

"Hey, where's Kagero?"

"I'm here," Kagero said, stepping out from behind a pillar, a pale shinobi held in her right hand by the back of his collar and a deep gash in her left side, her white dress mostly stained red already.

Ryuu ran over, catching her as she collapsed and setting her down, quickly starting to heal her side. It was slow, the wound struggling to stay as it was. But after a moment, it began to seal, closing up faster by the second until she was fully healed, if exhausted from blood loss. Ryuu picked her up, leaping to the toad and setting her down, the others all joining him there, minus Sasame. Sasame was pleading with Arashi to come with them. Finally, Arashi took her in his arms as though he was going to jump to the toad, then threw her. Ryuu caught her just as the toad leapt out through a hole in the ceiling, the rest of the ceiling collapsing, crushing Arashi. Sasame screamed and fought to get back to her brother, so Ryuu put her to sleep with a Genjutsu again. Then, as the toad landed on a mountain a ways away from the hideout, they all watched as nearly a mile's worth of trees shifted as the hideout collapsed.

"That place was massive," Ryuu said.

"No doubt," Naruto said. "Now what?"

"Before anything, Yugao, I think you owe Tayuya an apology," Ryuu said.

Yugao sighed, bowing. "I'm sorry for not trusting you. Thank you for saving us."

"No, you had every right not to trust me," Tayuya said. "In your shoes, I definitely wouldn't have even allowed me on this mission. But, I'm glad I could help. Here, you can have this." She held out the flute."

"Keep it," Yugao said. "We might need you if any more of those freaks show up."

Tayuya smiled and nodded.

"Alright," Jiraiya said. "Back to Hanzaki."

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Ryuu said. "Didn't Hanzaki try to rape Yugao?"

"No," Jiraiya said.

"Excuse me?" Yugao asked.

"Hanzaki explained it to me," Jiraiya said. "The ones that tried to rape you were from the Shiin Clan."

"It wouldn't surprise me," Kagero said. "The members of the Shiin Clan have always been immoral bastards."

"Then why was Hanzaki there while I was being assaulted?" Yugao asked.

"Who, the guy with the long back hair and the freakishly pale face?" Jiraiya asked. "That wasn't Hanzaki. Remember the man I showed up with? That was Hanzaki."

"Wait, when we first met up with you, you said that the people who tried to rape her claimed to be Hanzaki's men from the Fuma clan," Ryuu said.

"No I didn't," Jiraiya said. "I said that all I learned that was useful was that Hanzaki and his men were from the Fuma clan. But the group that tried to rape Yugao wasn't Hanzaki or his men."

"I'm confused," Naruto said. "Who raped who?"

"No one raped anyone," Yugao said. "Jeez. Let's just find the real Hanzaki and we'll figure it out from there."

Jiraiya nodded and they all headed to the village where Yugao had been assaulted. Once there, a tall man with broad shoulders, a red headband, a black muscle shirt under a sleeveless white cloak, and light purple pants met them at the gate. Jiraiya introduced him to everyone as Hanzaki. Then, Hanzaki's men arrived, all with cuts and bruises from a recent fight.

"You're the one that was...attacked, in the alleyway, right?" Hanzaki asked.

"Yes," Yugao said. "He claimed to be named Hanzaki, and his men claimed to be from the Fuma clan."

"No," Hanzaki said. "They were the Shiin Clan. His name was Shiin, and we've driven them out of town. Though, it wasn't easy."

Yugao nodded and turned to Kagero. "Look after Sasame. I don't trust this guy."

"I will," Kagero nodded.

"I'll help," Kotohime, a woman who had apparently given Jiraiya a hard time in Orochimaru's hideout but who he had saved from being crushed and then brought back with them, added.

"Sasame, will you be okay?" Naruto asked.

"Yes," Sasame nodded. "Thanks to all of you."

They all nodded, saying their goodbyes and left the town, all heading toward home. Before they had gone far, however, Ryuu stopped, turning back.

"Kagero!" Ryuu shouted. "How do you make your wings?"

"It's just focused chakra!" Kagero shouted back.

"Focused chakra?" Ryuu blinked. "I can do that. I think. Thank you!"

She waved and he turned, catching up with the others.

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	59. Chapter 59

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Relaxation

Ryuu yawned and stretched as he walked toward the hot spring. He had changed into swimming trunks in his room this time, so he didn't have to go into the changing room. He opened the door and stopped, seeing Fu and Tayuya both already in the hot spring, Fu wearing the same bikini as before and Tayuya wearing a small black bikini that covered more than Fu's but that was still smaller than he was pretty sure bikinis were meant to be. Fu smiled as she saw him and motioned for him to join her. He tossed his towel onto a table off to the side, closing the door and walking over to the spring, stepping into it and sighing, enjoying the water for a moment before making his way to Fu, sitting beside her.

She immediately turned, straddling his lap and wrapping her arms around his head, kissing him. He kissed her back happily and Tayuya huffed off to the side. Both ignored her so she splashed them. Ryuu and Fu both grinned wickedly. Then, in mere seconds, Tayuya found herself lying beside the spring, drenched even more than when she had been swimming and not entirely sure how she had ended up there. Fu turned, retaking her place in Ryuu's lap and returning to kissing him. He kissed her back, his hands resting on the side of her hips.

"Are you to gonna fuck or what?" Tayuya asked after several minutes.

Fu pulled away instantly, both of them blushing scarlet. Ryuu glared at Tayuya who shrugged.

"What?" Tayuya asked.

"We're only thirteen," Ryuu said.

"And I'm only fourteen," Tayuya said. "What's your point."

Ryuu bit back a statement that would have settled the argument but that he knew would have hurt Tayuya, badly. He sighed.

"No," Ryuu said. "We're not going to."

"Okay then," Tayuya said, slipping into the pool and beginning to float. "Now that that's settled, kindly stop making out in front of me. It's weird to see kids as young as you acting like that."

"You're barely a year older!" Ryuu said.

"That's beside the point," Tayuya said.

Ryuu sighed, resting his head on Fu's shoulder as she did the same. For a while, they stayed there. Then, Ryuu pushed off the wall, using chakra to make himself float and lying down, floating on the surface of the water, Fu lying on top of him, smiling. They stayed there for what felt like hours, Fu drifting off to sleep and Ryuu drifting off into a sort of half sleep. Then, sometime around noon, Ryuu woke Fu up, standing and holding her against him until her feet were under her and she was standing for herself. They climbed out of the pool, drying off and Ryuu headed back to the house to change, Fu using the changing room. After a few minutes, they headed out into town, going to Ichiraku's.

"Well look who it is!" Teuchi grinned. "Haven't seen you two in a while. What can I get you?"

"A bowl of pork ramen," Ryuu said.

"Three beef please," Fu smiled.

Ryuu chuckled as Teuchi nodded, moving to get their food started.

"I still never understood how you could eat so much," Ryuu said. "Even with Chomei."

Fu smiled. "All Jinchuriki have ridiculously high metabolisms. We have to replenish our own chakra reserves and also our Tailed Beasts' chakra."

Ryuu nodded, smiling. "Still though. Three bowls to start with? How can you eat so much here and yet only eat what we cook at home? You must be starving all the time."

"Not really," Fu smiled. "I have a food stash in the dresser."

Ryuu laughed. "Of course you do. How have I never noticed you sneaking food?"

Fu simply smiled and Ryuu shook his head. Teuchi brought them both their first bowl and they began to eat, Fu's all but vanishing. Just as she set her empty bowl down, Teuchi picked it up, setting her next bowl in front of her. She ate that one just as quickly. Ryuu shook his head, smiling, and drank the broth from his at the same time as Fu emptied her third bowl.

"Any more?" Teuchi asked.

"Three more please," Fu smiled.

"One for me," Ryuu said.

Teuchi nodded and brought them both out more. Once they had finished that round, they both called it quits and Ryuu payed, the two of them heading to the top of the Hokage Monument to cloud gaze. And there they stayed as the day passed, the sun creeping toward the horizon. Finally, the time came and they stood, Fu wrapping her arms around him and flying them into the air to watch the sunset. Ryuu smiled as the light began to form tendrils.

"It feels like so long ago that we last watched this," Ryuu said.

"It has been," Fu said. "We haven't done this in months."

Ryuu nodded, resting his cheek on top of her head as her head rested on his shoulder. They watched as the brilliant yellows and oranges faded to reds in the sun's light, then to pinks. Ryuu really didn't want this to end. He loved watching these sunsets with Fu. He loved everything he did with Fu. He felt a flicker of fear that someday she might not be there but forced it away, closing his eyes and losing himself in her presence. After a few more minutes, he felt them descending and opened his eyes. They landed in his back yard and walked inside, heading to their room and closing the door. Then, he pulled his shirt and pants off, pulling on a pair of pajama pants and climbing into bed. He glanced at Fu just as she turned toward him, completely free of clothing. He blushed crimson again, Tayuya's words from earlier returning to his mind. He fought that back as Fu climbed in, kissing him then laying her head on his chest, smiling widely as she listened to his heart rate.

"It's been a while since you've been this nervous," Fu smiled.

"It's been a while since you've actually been completely naked in bed too," Ryuu said. "Why tonight?"

"The full moon is in a couple of nights," Fu said. "I won't be able to sleep if I have clothes on this week."

Ryuu nodded, struggling to slow his heart. However, every time Fu shifted, every time she had to roll her head to the other side to try to get comfortable, or pull a leg higher, or slide it lower, or move her arms to a different spot, he was reminded of the fact that she was nude and his heart would go right back to its nervous stutter. Finally, she lifted her head, smiling up at him.

"Your heart's making it hard to sleep," Fu smiled.

"That's your fault," Ryuu said.

Fu smiled, moving up and kissing him, Ryuu kissing her back. Fu placed her hands on his chest to hold her weight and he rested his hands on the small of her back. They continued to kiss for several minutes, Neither wanting to separate even to breath. However, after a few minutes, Fu finally pulled back. She stared down at him, a small smile gracing her lips, and he smiled up at her as well.

"I'm glad I was sent to the Hidden Waterfall Village," Ryuu smiled.

"So am I," Fu agreed, kissing him again. "Although, Shibuki started to get annoyed with me for how much I was talking about you."

Ryuu chuckled. "Were you now? What about?"

"Everything," Fu smiled, kissing him.

He smiled, kissing her back. After a few minutes, she pulled back, settling back onto his chest again, again listening to his heart pounding away in his chest, giggling to herself. He shook his head, smiling, and began to run his hand through her hair. After a few minutes, he began to drift off to sleep and she smiled, closing her eyes and struggling to do the same.

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	60. Chapter 60

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

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Stars

"You're to pack up and meet Team Guy at the main gate," Tsunade said. "You'll be heading to the Village Hidden in the Stars on a security mission."

"What kind of security?" Ryuu asked.

"You're defending their most prized possession," Tsunade said. "A fallen star."

"A...Is there really a fallen star there?" Ryuu asked.

"That's right," Tsunade said. "And it has some form of power that allows it to enhance chakra."

"Really?" Ryuu blinked. "Sounds dangerous."

"Indeed," Tsunade nodded. "Now, once you've packed, head to the main gate. And remember, you're in charge of this mission. Be careful, alright?"

"Okay," Ryuu nodded. "I won't let there be a repeat of last time. Watch over Fu for me, alright? I don't want to come back just to find out the Akatsuki took her while I was gone."

"Don't worry," Tsunade said. "She'll be perfectly safe."

"Thank you," Ryuu bowed, turning to leave.

"One more thing," Tsunade said, Ryuu turning back to look at her. "Drop this off with Tayuya on your way, will you?"

She held out a Leaf Village headband and Ryuu smiled, nodding and taking it, heading to his house and finding Fu training Tayuya in Taijutsu in the back yard. Both stopped as Ryuu walked over.

"Hey Fu," Ryuu smiled. "Guess what Tayuya. I have a surprise for you."

"This better not be some useless piece of junk you just don't want to throw away," Tayuya said, crossing her arms.

Ryuu smirked and tossed her the headband, Tayuya staring at it in shock. It was on a black backing like his, and the leaf symbol was proudly displayed on the front. Her eyes began to water but she quickly wiped them, shrugging.

"Whatever," she said.

She tied it around her head, her bangs hanging out from under it as they had her hat before and Ryuu smiled. Then, he walked inside, grabbed his scroll for long missions, and headed back outside, kissing Fu goodbye before heading to the gate, finding Neji's team waiting.

"Hey Ryuu," Tenten smiled. "Long time no see."

"Hello Tenten," Ryuu smiled. "Hello Neji. You look good."

"Yes, the Medical Core fixed my wounds and I've made a full recovery," Neji said.

"Good," Ryuu said. "Lee, are you finally faster than me again?"

"I am almost back to one hundred percent, but I have been cleared to go on missions at last," Lee said.

"I see," Ryuu nodded. "Well, once you're back to full strength, come and find me so we can spar."

"I will," Lee nodded.

"Alright," Ryuu said, whistling, Yomo landing on his shoulder after a moment. "Let's go then."

With that, they were off, heading for the Hidden Star Village. After about three hours, they stopped as they reached a canyon filled with thick yellow fog. Ryuu knelt, staring into it, then lookin up at the other side.

"Poison gas," Ryuu said. "Impressive natural defense."

"Agreed," Neji said. "And the bridge looks like it might not want anyone getting in either."

Ryuu looked at it and nodded. The one and only bridge across had almost as many broken boards as intact ones, and the rope looked ancient. They looked up as an arrow shot across the canyon, stabbing into a tree, a rope attached to it allowing a shinobi wearing a gas mask to run across, landing in front of them.

"Are you from the Hidden Leaf?" the ninja asked.

"Yes," Ryuu nodded. "I'm Ryuu Uchiha, this is Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee, and Tenten. We were sent to help the Hidden Star Village."

"I'm Sumaru," the ninja said, pulling off his mask and letting his black hair fall behind him in a braid. "I was sent to escort you the rest of the way. By the way, don't trust the bridge."

He turned, jumping back onto the rope and running back across. The others followed suit, and once on the far side, the ninja pulled his arrow back and led them to the village's leader, Akahoshi.

"I'm Akahoshi, and I serve as Deputy Hoshikage of this village," the man said.

"Deputy?" Tenten asked. "But then..."

"The Third Hoshikage passed on quite suddenly a year ago, so at present the village finds itself without a true leader," Akahoshi explained.

"But I thought only the leaders of the Five Great Villages could be called Kage," Neji said.

"That makes no difference," Sumaru said. "The people of this village are inferior to no one. We may be small, but someday this village will rival those of the Five Great Lands. And when that day comes, I will be Hoshikage."

"Be quiet!" Akahoshi snapped, Ryuu's eye twitching. "Return to your training at once."

Sumaru had an inferiority complex and a bad attitude, from what Ryuu could tell, but Akahoshi just rubbed Ryuu the wrong way. Sumaru stood and walked out, Ryuu motioning with his eyes for Tenten to go and see what she could learn from him. She nodded subtly and followed.

"Sorry about our friend," Ryuu said to cover for her. "Where were we?"

"It's no bother," Akahoshi said. "As you were saying, you're right. The shinobi of this land are not qualified to even _have_ a Kage. However, we possess a star that the Kages of the Five Great Hidden Villages covet. Someday, we'll harness the power of the star and we'll be able to at last seat a sixth Kage."

"So your enemies have been trying to get that star," Neji said.

"That's right," Akahoshi said. "Our scouting team managed to get some useful intelligence."

Ryuu listened as Akahoshi told them everything they had learned. Then, as soon as the report was done, he stood.

"Where are you going?" Neji asked.

"It's time for me to take my medicine," Ryuu said. "You can fill me in on anything I miss later."

He walked out, turning toward the mountain behind the village where he could sense a distorted chakra similar to Sumaru and Akahoshi's. From the way they were moving, quick bursts of speed followed by standing motionless for a few seconds, it was obvious they were sneaking. He sank into the ground, speeding along through it to a massive crater where there was one large octangular building and one "L" shaped one at the center. Just as he rose from the ground, the doors burst open and someone ran out wearing a pair of tight dark blue shirts, a tight dark blue short-sleeved shirt, a gas mask identical to Sumaru's and a grey-blue flak jacket. In their right hand was a chunk of dark stone with craters all over it and pink chakra rolling off of it.

The person skidded to a stop as they saw him, readying themselves for a fight. Ryuu shook his head, sighing.

"You know, when I signed on to protect a star, I was kind of hoping it would be a little ball of light, not some chunk of rock," Ryuu said. "I was also kind of hoping this mission would last longer than a day. Oh well. Hand over the star and I promise not to hurt you. I'll even throw in a good word with Akahoshi."

The person tucked the stone into their flak and placed their hands together, their middle and ring fingers both pressing their knuckles together as their pinky and index fingers were extended, tips pressing together.

"Ninja Art, Kujaku," the person said, Ryuu instantly pegging the voice as female.

"Ryuu!" Tenten shouted as she and Sumaru ran to the building. "They have the star!"

"I know!" Ryuu said. "I'll deal with it." Ryuu watched the peacock-feather-shaped pink chakra streaming from the woman's back, tilting his head as he did. "Now that's neat. What's it do?"

"This," the woman said, her chakra constantly flowing from bottom to top on the sides before merging with the other side, making it also look kind of like a fire. "Beast."

The chakra erupted into a massive vortex before transforming into a wolf at the top. The wolf leapt forward, slashing at him and he flipped backward, hurling a shuriken experimentally, watching the shuriken bounce off of the wolf with a metallic ring.

"Well that's not what I was expecting," Ryuu said. "That's awesome. This might actually be fun."

She sent the wolf at him again and he rolled to the side, sprinting forward. Suddenly, a second wolf crashed down in front of him, ramming its head into him and hurling him backward where the first smashed its paw down on him, pinning him. He chuckled, sinking into the ground and rising off to the side again.

"Oh man, I wish we could spar for fun," Ryuu said. "Solid chakra is probably the coolest thing I've ever seen. Well, maybe if you could do wings. Then I'd beg you to teach me to make wings of my own. Anyway, I'm going to put an end to this now. Don't worry, I won't hurt you."

"Oh really?" she asked. "Synthesis."

The two wolves grew into one gigantic one, lunging at Ryuu, only to miss as he appeared off to the side, charging. Her wolf swiped at him and he leapt over it. Then, as he landed, he shot forward, moving to place a paralysis seal, only for her to leap over it, landing on the top of a tree. Ryuu stopped, looking up at her.

"Ryuu!" Sumaru shouted, running toward them.

The woman's head snapped around, staring at him for several seconds before she placed her hands together again. "Wings."

A pair of massive wings burst out of her back, four in total, the top two reaching about fifteen feet across out to the sides and the bottom two being about four feet each, reaching down each leg. She jumped, the wings beginning to flap and lifting her into the air. Ryuu groaned.

"That's not fair!" Ryuu said. "Everybody is learning to fly but me!"

She turned, taking off only for Ryuu to hurl a kunai with a rope attached, getting her around the ankle and being pulled after her, quickly climbing the rope toward her. As he neared her, she looked back at him.

"So you want to fly huh?" she asked. "Alright, let's fly."

She turned, wings beating and took off at a blistering pace, though still slower than Fu could fly. However, being held in Fu's arms and dangling from this woman's leg by a rope were two completely different feelings. This one was terrifying. She pulled a sharp turn, very nearly throwing Ryuu off. However, Ryuu clung to the rope, the woman looking back at him as she pulled a series of sharp turns and flips, trying to throw him off.

"You're a persistent one," she said. "Not bad. But you have no idea what's really going on here. What's really at stake. I can't let Akahoshi get this star back. Now get off of me!"

"Tell me why!" Ryuu shouted, noticing she slowed down whenever she spoke, her concentration on flying slipping. "Why can't Akahoshi have the star?"

"Just because!" she said. "You wouldn't understand!"

"Try me!" Ryuu shouted.

He looked down, seeing they were approaching the crater again.

"End of the line!" the woman said, drawing a kunai and flipping cutting the rope.

Ryuu shouted in surprise and fear, only for her to catch him by the back o his shirt, stopping his otherwise fatal momentum and dropping him. Then, she took off. Ryuu crashed down on Tenten, both groaning, before Ryuu stood, helping her up.

"Sorry," Ryuu said.

"It's fine," Tenten said. "Did she get the star?"

"Yeah," Ryuu said. "Yeah she got the star. I'm sorry Sumaru."

"It's my fault for letting you try," Sumaru said.

"In case you didn't notice, she was using the same chakra that that star spits out," Ryuu said. "Ninja Art, Kujaku, she called it."

"She what?" Sumaru blinked, staring up into the sky. "That's impossible. Only a Star-trained shinobi can wield that power."

"She's got to be from your village, then," Ryuu said. "Which means she may be nearby, still."

Sumaru stared at him before nodding. "We have to tell Akahoshi."

"No," Ryuu said. "Let's hold off on that."

"Why?" Sumaru asked.

"Because," Ryuu said. "I would rather report that we caught the thief than report that we lost the star, wouldn't you?"

Sumaru blinked then nodded, smirking. "I like your style."

"But how do we hide the fact that there's clearly no star in there?" Tenten said.

"I'll use a genjutsu," Ryuu said.

Just then, Neji and Lee arrived, Ryuu giving them the quick version, that the star was stolen and that the ninja that stole it got away by flying with chakra. Neji used his Byakugan and just caught a glimpse of the ninja before she was out of his range.

"Where is the star!?" Akahoshi demanded, suddenly behind them.

"Well, so much for that idea," Ryuu sighed. "It was stolen, but I'm going to get it back."

"I think you've done quite enough," Akahoshi snarled. "The first day and you've already failed!"

"Sir, the shinobi that stole it used Ninja Art, Kujaku," Sumaru said. "No question about it. If Ryuu hadn't been here, the shinobi would have gotten away without any resistance. Ryuu actually did...admirably, trying to stop them without any knowledge of their abilities."

"I see," Akahoshi said.

"We will retrieve the star, you may rest assured," Neji said.

"Very well," Akahoshi nodded. "We will leave the search to the Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf. Sumaru, you look after your injured brethren."

"But they're outsiders," Sumaru said. "What do they know of our ways?"

"That's an order!" Akahoshi said.

Then, he turned and walked away. Ryuu sighed.

"Are your friends going to be okay?" Ryuu asked. "I'm a Medical Ninja. I could help heal them if they're injured."

"Forget it," Sumaru said. "You're an outsider. It's none of your business. And quit acting like we're friends."

"I just wanted to help," Ryuu said. "Sheesh."

"What should we do?" Tenten asked.

"Akahoshi's hiding something," Ryuu said. "The ninja that took the star said I didn't understand what was really at stake, and that she couldn't let Akahoshi have the star. Neji, see if you can find any leads in town. Lee, Tenten, see if you can get into Akahoshi's house and see if there's anything he doesn't want us seeing. Anything at all. However, under no circumstance are you to be caught. Understood?"

They both nodded.

"What about you?" Neji asked.

"Well, during the fight, I got the feeling that our thief might have known Sumaru, so I'm going to see about anyone who went missing recently or a long time from now that was trained in the use of the Ninja Art, Kujaku, and who also knew him," Ryuu said. "Neji, you're in charge of Lee and Tenten if anything comes up before I see you all again."

Neji nodded and Ryuu turned, sensing for Sumaru and following him.

* * *

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	61. Chapter 61

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Kidnapped

Ryuu leaned against the tree, watching as Sumaru sang, staring at a purple crystal pendant. As he finished, Ryuu walked out of the trees, stopping beside him.

"You lost your parents to outsiders, didn't you?" Ryuu asked, Sumaru looking over at him, clutching the pendant protectively. "That's why you don't trust us."

Sumaru nodded. "What are you doing here?"

"My parents were murdered by someone I considered my brother," Ryuu said, Sumaru staring at him. "They had spent months after my older brother's death treating me like a failure, or like I didn't exist at all. But then, when Itachi began to slaughter our clan, he eventually ended up at our house. My father tried to fight him, pleading with me and my mother to run away, apologizing for everything he had done to me. But I was too afraid to run. I watched him die. Then my mother, who hadn't acknowledged the fact that she had even ever given birth to me in months, told me that she loved me, and that she was sorry. She told me to run, but I was too afraid. So instead, I stood there, watching as she died too. Itachi cut her head off and it landed in my lap. And I just sat there, holding my mother's severed head and crying as he tried to kill me. He failed, obviously, but I was in a coma for months after it."

"I...I'm sorry," Sumaru said. "I can't imagine."

"No, you can't," Ryuu said. "And I'm sure there are parts of your life that I can't even begin to grasp either. I grew up in a Great Hidden Village. I could never understand what it's like to belong to one as small as this, or to have something like your star to protect."

"You said you were a medical ninja, right?" Sumaru asked.

"Yes," Ryuu nodded.

"Could you...take a look at one of my friends?" Sumaru asked. "He's been getting sick recently. It starts to go away, but then it just comes back afterward, worse than before."

Ryuu nodded and Sumaru led him to the building beside the training building. As they walked inside, Ryuu saw one boy with dark gray hair lying in the bed at the far end, and a girl in a dark blue shirt with white sleeves and a white collar and dark blue shorts with brown hair in a ponytail sitting beside him, though she instantly turned to block Ryuu from seeing the boy.

"It's alright, Hokuto," Sumaru said. "He's a medic."

The girl, Hokuto, hesitated but stepped aside. Ryuu walked over to the bed, the boy looking up at him.

"Hello," the boy said. "I'm Mizura."

"Hello Mizura," Ryuu smiled. "I'm Ryuu. I'm going to check your injuries and see if I can help, okay?"

Mizura nodded and Ryuu began to examine him. What he found actually managed to scare him.

"It's poison," Ryuu said, gritting his teeth.

"Someone poisoned him!?" Sumaru seethed. "When I find them-"

"No," Ryuu said. "That's not what I meant. The star. It's power is poison. The star is what's killing Mizura."

"The...star?" Sumaru breathed. "You're sure?"

"The damage to his organs, the thing that's causing him to be sick, it's being caused by the star chakra flowing through him," Ryuu said, beginning to push some of his own chakra into Mizura's chakra pathways, not an easy task, but one that might help.

As he did, he also repaired the damaged organs. Finally, he had added enough chakra to offset Mizura's star chakra, making it less damaging to Mizura's body, though not enough to completely remove it from his body like he needed.

"There," Ryuu said, sitting back. "That should help. He needs rest, and he needs to stay away from the star. I'm willing to bet that if I check you two, I'd probably find the same damage, even if not as bad."

"Check me," Sumaru said, Ryuu examining him.

"Yeah, it's there," Ryuu said. "Your body seems to be more resistant to it than Mizura's, but you've got the same kind of damage starting."

"We need to warn Akahoshi," Sumaru said.

"No," Ryuu said. "Akahoshi already knows, I'd bet."

"What?" Sumaru asked.

"The person that stole the star, their star chakra far exceeded yours," Ryuu said. "Their body has to be reaching its limit, or at least, in danger of it. They said that I didn't understand what was at stake, and that they couldn't let Akahoshi have the star. If Akahoshi has been here long enough to be acting Hoshikage, then he has to already have seen what star chakra does to people."

"So, what, Akahoshi is trying to kill us?" Sumaru asked.

"No," Ryuu said. "But I don't think he actually cares about anything except gaining power."

"What would you know!?" Sumaru snapped, standing. "Akahoshi is a good man!"

"What was your last Hoshikage doing just before he died?" Ryuu asked. "He outlawed star training, didn't he?"

Sumaru stared at him, confused.

"What if he outlawed star training, but Akahoshi didn't like that," Ryuu said. "So Akahoshi murdered him so that he could be in charge and continue the training."

"That's...not possible," Sumaru said.

Just then, Ryuu sensed the same shinobi that had stolen the star. He turned in that direction, Sumaru lookin at him curiously.

"Is it them?" Sumaru asked.

"I think so," Ryuu nodded. "Hokuto, stay here with Mizura. Sumaru, let's go."

Sumaru nodded and they left the building, sprinting through the trees until they reached the canyon, following it to a spot that stuck out more than the others, slowing to a stop as they found the shinobi standing there. Ryuu stepped forward, hands raised to show he didn't want to fight.

"I need answers," Ryuu said. "Does Akahoshi know the star is toxic?"

The shinobi stiffened before nodding.

"So, you outsiders are smarter than you look," the ninja said, the voice distinctly male this time.

Ryuu's eyes widened a fraction of an inch and he crouched, readying himself, Sumaru doing the same. "Well, let's not waste any more time then, shall we?"

He shot forward, the ninja's star chakra erupting out of their back and stabbing at him as spikes. Ryuu dodged and rolled out of the way of the spikes. This definitely wasn't the same person. The last one, aside from being female, was much faster and stronger. Ryuu leapt at the ninja, shoving a palm strike at them, only for them to turn out of the way, allowing him to fall into the canyon. He flipped, hurling a kunai on a rope and holding his breath. As he began to climb, the shinobi flew off of the cliff, Sumaru under his arm. Then, he hurled a kunai, cutting Ryuu's rope before taking off into the fog. Ryuu squeezed his eyes shut, struggling to continue holding his breath. Then, several star chakra tendrils wrapped around his legs, yanking him back to the top and dropping him in front of Hokuto, who knelt, a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Hokuto asked.

"Yeah," Ryuu said, breathing feeling like his lungs were on fire. "Thanks to you."

He held a hand to his chest, using Medical Ninjutsu heal the damage the poison had done as well as using Wind Style chakra to force the poison gas out of his lungs, exhaling it back into the canyon. Finally, he finished and fell onto his side, panting.

"I hate...that canyon," Ryuu said.

"Ryuu!" Neji shouted, running over. "What happened?"

"A ninja...took Sumaru," Ryuu said. "I...fell in. Hokuto...caught me."

"You have my thanks," Neji said. "Why would the ninja take Sumaru though?"

"Different ninja," Ryuu said. "This one was male. The last one was female."

"Really?" Neji asked.

"Akahoshi," Ryuu said. "That's who took Sumaru."

"But why?" Neji asked.

"Because of who the other ninja is," Ryuu said.

"Who?" Neji asked.

"Sumaru's mother," Ryuu said.

"Natsuhi?" Hokuto asked. "But, she was killed by outsiders."

"According to who?" Ryuu asked.

"Akahoshi," Hokuto breathed.

"I think he tried to kill her," Ryuu said. "But she survived, and now she's taken the star. So he staged a kidnapping of Sumaru in order to draw her out."

"I see," Neji nodded. "It makes sense. We'll see what we can find. You rest."

Ryuu nodded, blacking out almost instantly.

* * *

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	62. Chapter 62

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Traded

Ryuu watched as Natsuhi and Akahoshi spoke. Akahoshi was demanding the star. Natsuhi was demanding Sumaru. It would go nowhere. Finally, Akahoshi declared that he would take it by force, Natsuhi laughing.

"You think you finished the Star Training all on your own?" Natsuhi laughed.

"I think you'll find that I'm more than a match for you, Lady Natsuhi!" Akahoshi said, forming the usual Star Chakra hand sign. "Ninja Art, Kujaku! Beast!"

Natsuhi formed her own, hers more than five times the size of Akahoshi's. Natsuhi's roared, then lunged, biting down on Akahoshi's and dragging it back into itself, absorbing the chakra as Akahoshi flew backward, struggling to stand. Akahoshi pushed himself up and shouted for reinforcements, two more shinobi appearing on either side of him. Then, he told them to go, both scattering into the trees. Ryuu turned, walking out of the trees calmly.

"Akahoshi," Ryuu said, Akahoshi spinning, staring at him. "Need a hand?"

"Perfect timing," Akahoshi said. "I just sent two of my best men to get your help."

"I bet you did," Ryuu said, watching him out of the corner of his eye. "After all, Natsuhi is far stronger than you are."

"Yes she...how do you know that name?" Akahoshi stared at him and Ryuu smirked.

"Well, firstly from Sumaru, who Neji rescued from your attic this morning after I healed his lungs," Ryuu said. "Secondly because you just called her it while demanding she hand over the star before you give up her son." He turned, smirking at Akahoshi. "Really now, Akahoshi. How stupid are you?"

"I hired you!" Akahoshi snarled as Ryuu drew his trench knife.

"That you did," Ryuu agreed. "And now, I'm going to get my ass chewed for turning on the man that hired me. I might even get locked up in prison. However, I will be fine, because at least I know you're not dooming dozens of children to death for it."

Just then, Neji and the two Hidden Star Village shinobi from a moment ago arrived, Neji looking between Akahoshi and Ryuu.

"Ryuu, what are you doing?" Neji demanded.

"Protecting children," Ryuu said. "If the village still wants the star once I'm finished with Akahoshi and have allowed Natsuhi to explain its side effect, then I'll happily break the fucking thing and give it to them. But first, I'm going to kill Akahoshi."

"Will you now?" Akahoshi grinned. "We'll see."

Suddenly, a massive pillar of Star Chakra burst out of the ground, smashing into Ryuu from the side and hurling him at Natsuhi. Just as she caught him out of instinct, the pillar crashed into the ground at the base of the precipice she stood on, dropping both. She formed a pair of wings, beginning to fly away, only for Akahoshi's chakra to latch onto them, absorbing them. As Ryuu fell, Neji suddenly followed them over the edge. Ryuu flipped, landing on his feet, struggling to keep Wind Chakra flowing through his lungs and out his mouth and nose, blocking the poison. He caught Neji, placing a hand over his nose and mouth before turning and sprinting along through the bottom of the trench, following Natsuhi. After a matter of seconds, she picked them up, flying them out of the gas and away from the village. She landed at the mouth of a cave that was hidden by bushes. He followed her in, setting Neji on the floor and beginning to heal the damage, using Wind Chakra to suck the poison out. Finally, Neji's eyes creaked open and he stared at Ryuu as Ryuu worked.

"Where are Lee, Tenten, and Sumaru?" Ryuu asked.

"Safe," Neji croaked. "Hidden."

Then, he passed out again. Ryuu finished treating him and sighed, checking his own lungs for any damage, finding himself blessedly clear of it.

"Thank you for saving us," Ryuu said.

"You're welcome," Natsuhi smiled.

"Allow me to treat you," Ryuu said. "From the Star Chakra, I mean. I helped one of the children in the village a couple days ago, maybe I can extend your life as well. I'm sure it must be tearing you apart inside."

Natsuhi considered for a moment before nodding, turning away from him and pulling her flak off, leaving her in a tight blue shirt. Ryuu knelt behind her once she was seated and closed his eyes, focusing. He found the damage easily. It was bad. He was amazed she wasn't as sick as Mizura. He went to work trying to treat it, making slow progress. However, after a while, he had finally healed as much as he could, roughly half the damage. He sat back, Natsuhi pulling her flak back on, and then looked over at Neji.

"So, I've heard Akahoshi's side of the story," Ryuu said. "Mind telling me your side?"

Natsuhi smiled, nodding.

* * *

Ryuu hurled a shuriken, the shuriken hitting one of the shinobi in the calf, making him shout in pain, falling and driving the other side of the point into his butt as his leg gave out and he landed on it. Akahoshi and the other ninja both turned toward him, glaring.

"That Star's going nowhere," Ryuu said. "I don't care how badly you want it."

"That star is what you were hired to protect," Akahoshi said.

"And I am," Ryuu said. "From you. After all, you knocked me and Neji into the canyon. Clearly that makes you the thief, right?"

"That's correct," Neji said, stepping out of the trees. "We're perfectly justified now. It's self defense."

"You brats!" Akahoshi snarled. "You're both fools, just like that stupid old man the Third Hoshikage. He refused to understand that star training is essential to keep our village strong and prosperous! He said it was monstrous! Monstrous! That old fool! That's why we killed him, the three of us."

"I see," Neji nodded. "Very well. Then we'll make sure not to underestimate you, since you're clearly unhinged enough to kill your own leader."

"Is that right?" Akahoshi snarled. "Alright, try me!"

Ryuu darted forward, slashing at him only for Akahoshi to leap over the strike. Ryuu spun, forming hand seals before exhaling a stream of flame at him. Akahoshi flipped, landing on his feet and forming his star chakra, the chakra swinging in a circle as a massive tendril, smashing both Ryuu and Neji away from him. Ryuu flipped, landing on his feet and activating his Sharingan, slamming his hands into the ground. Stone spikes erupted out of the ground around Akahoshi, only for his chakra to form a sphere around him, blocking the jutsu. Then, it unravelled, extending as a dozen spikes and almost instantly clearing the distance between him and Ryuu, impaling the Uchiha through multiple spots, including his heart. He pulled Ryuu to him, grinning, just as Ryuu began to expand.

"What the-"

Ryuu exploded into a ball of fire, launching Akahoshi backward until Ryuu caught him with a foot, sliding the foot to his neck and beginning to press downward.

"You lose, Akahoshi," Ryuu said.

"Ryuu, watch out!" Neji shouted.

Ryuu flipped into the air, barely avoiding the other shinobi's star chakra. Akahoshi stood as Ryuu was landing, forming his own Star Chakra into a wolf, only for Natsuhi's chakra to devour both of the others'. Both turned to her, leaping away from the three enemies they were presented with. Ryuu walked over to their wounded comrade, who was struggling to stand, and swept his good leg out from under him, dropping him to the ground before placing a paralysis seal on him. Then, he turned back to Akahoshi.

"It's over, Akahoshi," Ryuu said.

"Ryuu, Neji, this is my fight," Natsuhi said, stepping past them and forming a chakra wolf, Akahoshi and his remaining subordinate doing the same.

Then, Akahoshi ate the subordinate's, growing massively for it. Then, the two beasts clashed. They wrestled about in the air for several moments, however, unlike the day before, Natsuhi's chakra wasn't as massively overpowering this time. Ryuu's brain instantly put two and two together. The more damage the star chakra did, the more powerful it was. Suddenly, Ryuu's head snapped around to the side as Sumaru landed at the edge of the clearing with Lee, Tenten, and several of the other children.

"They're alive!" Tenten gasped.

"What are you doing here!?" Neji demanded. "I told you to hide!"

"We thought you were dead," Lee said. "We came to make Akahoshi pay!"

Suddenly, star chakra burst out of the ground, wrapping around Sumaru, beginning to drain his own. Natsuhi shrieked in rage, but her focus was broken. Akahoshi's beast latched on and in seconds, Natsuhi had been drained, collapsing. Akahoshi's chakra beast was massive, as Natsuhi's had been before. Ryuu leapt at him, but the beast flashed around, smashing him into Neji, then both into Tenten and Lee. To his credit, though, Ryuu did manage to channel chakra into his trench knife and cut through the star chakra binding Sumaru, allowing him to stagger backward and fall on his ass. Ryuu pushed himself up as Akahoshi blasted the massive rock formation beside them, obliterating it and pulling the star out of the remains of the coffin that had been there. Then, he turned to the children, grinning widely.

"Now then, Leaf Village Ninja, as the star has been returned to me, I shall overlook everything else that has transpired today," Akahoshi smirked. "Your mission is complete. Leave. As for those of you from the Hidden Star Village, all of you who would dedicate your lives to the village, follow me."

"But sir, what about Sumaru?" Hokuto asked. "He's hurt."

"Leave him," Akahoshi said. "He's nothing but the son of a traitor. Now go, all of you!"

"Right," the children said, all leaving except for Hokuto, who was kneeling beside the unconscious Sumaru.

"Hokuto, you too," Akahoshi said.

"I won't leave Sumaru," Hokuto said. "Not even for the village."

"Then you are a traitor as well," Akahoshi said.

He turned, leaving and Ryuu sighed, turning to Hokuto, smiling. "You've got guts. He's important to you, isn't he?"

Hokuto blushed but nodded.

Ryuu knelt, his hands glowing green as he slowly scanned Sumaru. "He's going to be fine. He's just exhausted. Now, I need to heal Natsuhi again. Then we'll find someplace to rest while we decide what to do next."

The others nodded and he began to heal Natsuhi, working faster than before, despite there being a lot more damage than before after her chakra was forcefully ripped out of her. After an hour and a half, he let the jutsu fade and lifted her onto his back, he and Neji leading the others back to Natsuhi's cave. once there, they lay both on a blanket, draping a sheet over them and resting their heads on pillows.

"Now what?" Ryuu asked. "The mission's over, but we can't illegally attack to try and destroy or steal the star for no reason."

"No, we can't," Neji said. "We can't do anything outside of the mission."

"Well, what if we hired you to destroy or steal the star?" Hokuto asked.

"What?" Ryuu blinked.

"Could we do that?" Hokuto asked. "And while you're at it, make our village see Akahoshi for what he is?"

"I think so," Ryuu nodded. "But we'd be facing shinobi, that'd be B or A rank."

"That's pretty expensive," Lee nodded.

"Can't you guys cut her a deal since you all want to do it anyway?" Tenten asked.

"No, we can't," Neji said. "We would need the full payment."

"I'll pay whatever it takes," Hokuto said.

"Alright," Ryuu said, grinning. "Then in that case, we're charging you all the kunai and paper bombs you have on you, and one kiss for Sumaru once he wakes up."

Lee nodded and Neji, Tenten, and Hokuto stared at him in shock and confusion.

"You're joking," Neji said.

"Oh no, I'm very serious," Ryuu said. "A rank missions are expensive."

Hokuto burst into a fit of laughter, holding out her ninja tool pouch before struggling to calm herself. As she finally settled down, Sumaru stirred, pushing himself up slowly, groaning. Ryuu grinned as Hokuto's face turned crimson.

"What's so funny?" Sumaru groaned. "Did we win?"

"Not exactly," Ryuu said. "But we'll get him next time."

Sumaru nodded as Hokuto knelt beside him. Then, just as he turned to look at her, she leaned in, kissing him quickly before pulling back, blushing scarlet, him doing the same.

"I-I'm glad you're okay," Hokuto stammered.

Sumaru stared at her for another minute before dropping back to the pillow. Ryuu snorted but held it in, Neji, Lee, and Tenten all pretending to have been busy with their gear.

"Shut up!" Hokuto wailed. "It's not funny!"

"Relax," Ryuu chuckled. "Him fainting is a good sign, but if you would prefer, you can play it off as him having been dreaming when he wakes up."

Hokuto didn't answer and Ryuu opened her pouch, pulling out three kunai and twelve explosive tags.

"That'll work," Ryuu smiled, taking the explosives. "I'll buy you some more once we've dealt with Akahoshi."

Hokuto nodded and Ryuu stood, stretching his back. Then, he stood, looking to Lee, Tenten, and Neji, who also stood and nodded. Ryuu handed the paper bombs and kunai, as well as all of his, to Tenten, keeping only his tanto and trench knife.

"Neji, Lee, you too," Ryuu said. "Tenten, when we reach the village, you're in charge of the distraction. Don't get caught, and don't use all of them. Just get Akahoshi and the rest of the jonin away from the star long enough for us to reach it. After that, I'll be able to handle Akahoshi."

"And the rest of the bombs?" Tenten asked.

"Any surprise visits from an...old friend of mine," Sado said. "He's pale white and carries a sword with a blue demon-themed hilt. I want you to blow him into a thousand pieces if he shoes up."

"Um...okay?" Tenten said.

"Let's go," Ryuu said.

* * *

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	63. Chapter 63

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Insanity

They left the cave, speeding through the trees. After longer than Ryuu would like, they reached the canyon, crossing on the same rope as the first time and then splitting up. Tenten left to distract everyone, and Ryuu, Neji, and Lee went to get the star. Finally, an explosion went off on the far side of the village and Ryuu skidded down into the crater. Just as he did, however, Natsuhi flew down to the training building, walking inside. Ryuu sensed the village's shinobi coming and hid behind a boulder with the other two, swearing.

"Now what?" Neji asked.

"Wait for it," Ryuu said.

A moment later, a much, much larger explosion went off, almost all of the shinobi leaving to investigate this time. All that were left were Akahoshi and his one subordinate who Ryuu hadn't paralyzed before and left where he had fallen. That seal would break when the sun rose. The one he was going to place on Akahoshi, however, would not. Ever.

Ryuu flipped over the boulder, hurling a stone at Akahoshi's subordinate and hitting him in the back of the head just as he moved to threw several kunai at Natsuhi from behind, making him miss. Natsuhi spun, leaping over the two Hidden Star ninja and landing behind Ryuu and the others.

"We'll handle them this time," Ryuu said. "Just then, Tenten landed beside them, sighing."

"They saw me," Tenten said.

Hidden Star shinobi began to appear around them rapidly, Ryuu rolling his eyes and standing.

"Don't move!" one of the shinobi, most of whom were holding crossbows, ordered.

"Wait!" Hokuto shouted, she and Sumaru flying down on Sumaru's wings, both landing inside the circle, Hokuto standing between Ryuu and the one that had spoken. "They're not the enemy!"

"Hokuto, what are you doing?" someone asked.

"Why did you betray the village?" someone else asked.

"She didn't betray the village, she chose not to leave Sumaru to die!" Ryuu snapped. "And I take it you believe Sumaru, the guy who's always saying he's going to be the next Hoshikage, is also a traitor, right?"

People began to murmur amongst themselves.

"Don't listen to him!" Akahoshi said. "These Leaf Village Shinobi were working with the thief!"

"You're goddamn right we were," Ryuu said, turning to look at Natsuhi, who stepped forward, some of the older shinobi gasping.

"My name is Natsuhi," Natsuhi said. "For anyone who doesn't know, I'm Sumaru's mother. I'm also the last surviving person to have finished the Star Training. Everyone else died because of the Star Training, including my husband. I would be dead myself if this Leaf Village ninja hadn't healed me on multiple occasions."

More murmurs.

"I stole the star once years ago, for the same reason I stole it this time," Natsuhi said. "A reason Akahoshi doesn't want you to know. Star Chakra is poisonous! It kills anyone who uses it. If Star Training is not stopped, all of the children will die!"

"Lies!" Akahoshi seethed. "Baseless lies!"

"Alright that's it!" Ryuu said. "Bring out Mizura!"

Mizura limped toward them from the other genin, leaning heavily on a cane Ryuu had carved for him before going to see what Akahoshi and Natsuhi were talking about. He limped through the shinobi, who all parted for him, staring in shock. Ryuu sighed when he reached them.

"Mizura, you didn't," Ryuu said.

"I tried training again after you healed me," Mizura said. "I thought maybe I could withstand it."

Mizura's hair had turned gray, and his body was deathly pale, except for the glowing purple spots on his torso, which he had pulled his gi off of, where the star chakra was attacking his skin. Even with the cane, he was barely able to support his weight, shaking badly as he tried to even stay standing.

"This is all from Star Training," Mizura said. "My body is weaker than the others, so the effects are faster, but this is what star chakra does to everyone."

Then, his legs gave out, Hokuto catching him and lowering him to the ground.

"This is exactly why the Third Hoshikage forbade star training," Natsuhi said. "Until Akahoshi murdered him!"

Everyone fell deathly silent, staring at Akahoshi. He was fuming, glaring daggers at everyone inside the circle of shinobi.

"Well Akahoshi?" someone asked. "Is that true? Did you kill the Hoshikage?"

"That's right!" Akahoshi snarled. "I killed the Third Hoshikage! And I'd do it a thousand times over! That wretched old fool would have thrown away our village's future for some snot-nosed little brats!"

"How dare you!"

"You monster!"

"Anyone who threatens this village is a traitor!" Akahoshi shouted over everyone else. "Arrest these brats and kill the bitch!"

The other genin moved first, moving to stand in front of Ryuu and the others, arms spread defensively. Then, the adults did the same.

"Traitors!" Akahoshi raged. "You're all traitors! Every last one of you!"

He grabbed a crossbow from the ground, firing at Hokuto, only for Sumaru to step in the way, the arrow hitting just to the right of his heart. Natsuhi unleashed a shriek like a banshee, her Star Chakra unleashing all her fury on Akahoshi, demolishing the training building instantly, Akahoshi struggling to dodge it for a minute before forming his own chakra and fighting back. Ryuu ripped the arrow out of Sumaru's chest, instantly working to heal him, Sumaru grimacing.

"Sumaru!" Hokuto sobbed. "Hang on! Stay with me!"

"Hokuto," Sumaru smiled, raising his hand, Hokuto catching it with both of hers. "Thank you...for..."

"Shut up Sumaru!" Ryuu said. "You're not dying. So cut the theatrics."

Sumaru's eyes began to flutter shut and he sighed, passing out. However, just as he did, Ryuu finished healing him, smirking and shaking his head.

"This friggin' kid," Ryuu sighed. "He's fine, Hokuto. He just passed out from the pain."

Just then, Natsuhi's chakra blasted Akahoshi, throwing him backward. Ryuu walked over to stand beside Natsuhi as Akahoshi stood, pulling the star out of his robes. Then, he placed it against his chest, pushing, hard. Ryuu flinched as he heard Akahoshi's ribs break. His skin tore, and then he stopped, grinning. The star was implanted in his chest. It began to shine with purple light and star chakra exploded off of Akahoshi rapidly. His hair suddenly turned pink, growing several inches as his forehead protector broke off. Then, the chakra exploded first into a tornado before forming into a dragon. Ryuu sighed.

"Alright," Sado said. "Stand back Natsuhi. Your star chakra can't compete with that."

"You can't fight him like that," Natsuhi said.

"Bet," Ryuu grinned forming half a dozen clones, all of whom charged instantly.

Ryuu himself slashed his tanto, blasting the dragon with an arc of fire, making it lunge at him, only for him to appear off to the side, blasting it again. It swung around at him and he appeared behind Akahoshi, realizing that the chakra at the back looked thinner than the front. He blasted it, but it showed no sign of being weaker than anywhere else. He vanished, reappearing off to one side as his clones reached Akahoshi, only for the dragon to shoot a blast of pure star chakra at them, destroying them all. He began to laugh just as Ryuu appeared in front of him, punching the star chakra then leaping away before the dragon could blast him. He flipped, landing on his feet and vanishing just ahead of a star chakra blast, appearing off to the side.

"Ryuu, you have to destroy the star!" Neji shouted. "Otherwise, he'll just keep gaining chakra!"

"That'll kill him!" Ryuu shouted, avoiding the dragon.

"It's the only way!" Neji shouted. "Only you can get through the star chakra!"

Ryuu appeared off to the side, growling in annoyance but nodding, forming a pair of Chidoris.

"Don't count on it!" Akahoshi shouted, the dragon growing wings and spinning, the wings sending out arcs of star chakra the way Ryuu had flames earlier. Ryuu sprinted forward, flipping and ducking through the blasts before driving his hands at the Star Chakra. Then, the chidoris shattered against it. Leapt away, barely avoiding the dragon's head but being caught in the blast it fired anyway. He crashed down hard, pushing himself up slowly.

"No way," Neji breathed. "He couldn't cut it?"

"Okay, try this!" Ryuu said, holding out his hand.

Chakra began to spiral over it, forming itself into a sphere. Then, just as it was about to be complete, it dispersed in a cloud of sparks. Ryuu swore loudly before vanishing a second ahead of the dragon, appearing on one of the wooden beams sticking up from the training hall.

"Dammit," Ryuu swore. "I can't copy that jutsu? Dammit. That's impressive Naruto. But...it kind of fucks me here. I don't have any jutsus as effective at brute force as your Rasengan."

He vanished as the dragon fired a blast at him, appearing behind Akahoshi and shoving a Chidori at the chakra. The jutsu made a tiny mark on the chakra, but still failed to cut through. Then, Akahoshi's dragon blasted headlong into him. He crashed down, rolling several feet before stopping, groaning and pushing himself up.

"Ryuu!" Neji shouted.

"I'm alright!" Ryuu shouted. "I'll figure this out. You're sure your Gentle Fist is useless?"

"I'm sure!" Neji nodded.

Ryuu sighed, forming another Chidori, seeing the chakra behind Akahoshi had already regenerated. He sighed. "This is useless."

He stared at it. Kakashi had said the Chidori could cut anything. Kakashi was going to be depressed that it had failed. He let it fade, looking up at Akahoshi. He couldn't beat him. But maybe Lee could break the chakra enough to get him a target. Ryuu vanished, reappearing beside Lee.

"Lee, how hard can you hit?" Ryuu asked.

"Hard," Lee said. "What do you need?"

"The chakra behind him is weakest," Ryuu said. "But none of my attacks can get through it as it is. I need you to crack it. Hit it as hard as you can directly behind his heart and the chakra should crack. The moment it does, I'll put a Chidori through it."

Lee nodded, reaching into his leg warmers and pulling out brass knuckles. Then, he took off, speeding around Akahoshi, whose dragon struggled to keep up. Then, as Akahoshi's dragon passed around in front of Akahoshi again, Lee sped up, vanishing and reappearing behind Akahoshi, smashing his fist into the chakra. Ryuu waited. Akahoshi crashed to the ground, Lee landing on him and rapidly smashing his fists into the chakra. Finally, the dragon blasted him off and Ryuu formed a Chidori, appearing behind Akahoshi as he stood. Cracks spiderwebbed across the back of Akahoshi's chakra, but they were sealing rapidly. He shoved his Chidori forward, driving it through the chakra and through Akahoshi, severing his spine and killing him painlessly before his hand drilled a hole through the star. He instantly vanished, barely escaping the explosion that followed the star being damaged. It flung him like a rag doll, Neji and Tenten catching him. Then, they set him on his feet, all of them watching the mushroom cloud the star had created. Ryuu sat down hard, groaning and wiping the sweat from his eyes. Tenten and Neji sat on either side of him, Lee dropping to the ground a little lower in the crater from him.

"Why do I always get the crazy ones?" Ryuu sighed.

"I don't know," Neji said. "You didn't fight Kidomaru."

"Me, Lee, and Gaara _all_ fought Kimimaro, and _lost_ ," Ryuu said. "Fuck I need a vacation."

The other three all laughed as the others walked over, Sumaru holding his chest and blushing slightly at having thought he was dying earlier.

"Thank you for saving us," Natsuhi said. "And for saving my son."

"Don't thank us yet," Ryuu said. "You all need treatment that I can't give. But Lady Tsunade might be able to. You'd have to come to the Hidden Leaf Village, though."

"We can manage that," Natsuhi nodded. "Still, though, thank you."

Ryuu nodded and pushed himself up. They went to the same hotel they had stayed at the rest of the nights they had been in the village and the next morning they all headed to Konoha with the Hidden Star Village's shinobi, Lee taking Mizura on ahead, since his case was the most severe.

* * *

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	64. Chapter 64

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

 ** _WARNING: This chapter contains a lime of sorts between Fu and Ryuu. If you don't want to read it, fell free to skip._**

* * *

Beach Trip

Ryuu smiled as he lay back in the sand. This was exactly what he needed. Sun, sand, ocean, water park for some reason right beside the ocean, and Fu. The beach was deserted today, and very few people were at the water park. Ryuu wasn't entirely sure why, but there was practically no one around. Not that he minded. He was able to get a tan, swim, or train, if he _really_ got bored, all without anyone bothering him.

Fu dropped onto Ryuu's legs, Ryuu looking up at her and smiling. She had gotten a new bikini to wear on their vacation trip. This one was light green, matching her hair, and was normal-sized, as bikinis go. However, he still loved seeing her in a bikini. She smiled down at him and slipped her hands into his, lacing their fingers together.

"You're being boring," Fu complained.

"I'm tanning," Ryuu countered.

"Exactly!" Fu said.

Ryuu chuckled. "Alright, well then what would you rather be doing?"

Fu thought for a moment, a grin forming on her face several times, only to fade each time. "Something fun."

Ryuu chuckled again. "Tanning _is_ fun. It's relaxing."

"Not for me," Fu said. "I can't sit still. I'm a Jinchuriki. I have ADHD, just like Naruto."

Ryuu snorted and shook his head. "Tell you what. If you can lay here and tan with me for twenty minutes. I'll let you pick what we do next."

"Yay!" Fu cheered, throwing her hands into the air before rolling over onto her side of the blanket beside him.

Ryuu smiled, flipping onto his stomach, head turned toward her. For about ten minutes, Fu did well. However, by the end of the ten minutes, he could sense her getting antsy. He cracked an eye open, seeing she had removed her bikini to tan naked. He sighed.

"You shouldn't do that in public," Ryuu said.

"I don't like tan lines," Fu said. "And you like it when I'm naked."

Ryuu groaned, Fu flipping over and smiling at him. He shook his head, closing his eyes again. After another few minutes, he risked cracking his eye open again. Fu was staring at him, an exasperated and bored expression on her face. He chuckled, pushing himself up.

"Alright," Ryuu sighed. "Good enough. What do you want to do?"

"Eat," Fu said. "Then go on every ride in the water park at least twice."

Ryuu chuckled. He really wanted to just relax, but he had made a deal, so he nodded, standing and slipping his feet into his sandals, picking up their blanket. Fu smiled, quickly putting her bikini back on and following him as they walked to the nearest restaurant. They sat at a table in the corner, Ryuu facing the door, and both ordered. Ryuu got a burger and Fu got several menu options. As they waited for their food, they discussed theories about how to make Ryuu fly using chakra. He didn't have star chakra, but Kagero had formed wings from chakra without Star Chakra, so it should have theoretically been possible. Once their food arrived, they ate quickly. Then, they left the restaurant, heading into the water park. Fu grabbed his hand instantly, dragging him through the park. It wasn't long before Ryuu realized that the water park had a bunch of games too. Like one where the players would stand on unsteady floating platforms and then try to knock each other off using double-ended foam batons. And another was volleyball, except in waist deep water. Ryuu laughed as Fu dragged him toward the baton fights. They waited in line for a few minutes, each game not lasting more than a few minutes, before they were allowed into the pool They climbed the steps onto their platforms and the two people in charge of the game took the steps away, the platforms swaying instantly.

"Begin," one of the two men said, his tone extremely bored.

Ryuu attacked first, swiping viciously at Fu's head, only for her to wave her upper body in a circle, the stand following, then swipe at his legs. He jumped, lifting his legs up over the baton, then landed on his platform, slipping and crashing onto it on his back. Fu swiped at him and he rocked back onto his shoulders, then flipped over the baton as she swiped sideways at him. The crowd around them was going wild, cheering them on. Ryuu dropped to one knee, swiping at Fu's legs. She jumped, moving to land on one foot on the back side of the staff but Ryuu yanked it back that way, taking that leg out from under her and making her crash down on the platform, nearly sliding off. She flipped, landing on the opposite side of the platform as it tilted dangerously. Then, it dropped back to its normal position and she blocked a swipe, swinging the other end of her baton at him, Ryuu using the back of his to knock the swipe upward and jabbing the back end at her. She ducked under it and released her baton with one hand, sweeping his legs out from under him. He bounced on the platform, knocking it out from under him and dropping him into the water. He stood, coughing and wiped the water off of his face, seeing fu drop into the water. Around them, the crowd was cheering loudly, apparently not having had anything that entertaining to watch all day.

"Someone should create a big sports tournament for Shinobi," Ryuu said. "Like the Chunin Exams, but less deadly."

Fu giggled and nodded. "That would be fun."

They walked out of the pool and Fu dragged him to more games. Then, they began to make their rounds of rides. After hours of riding the various water slides or water rollercoasters of the park, since that's mostly what there was, Fu and Ryuu walked to the beach, sitting down and watching the sky. It was getting close to time for the sun to set. After a few more minutes, of simply enjoying one another's company, Ryuu stood, Fu wrapping her arms around him from behind, then flew them into the air, hovering once they were high enough, watching the sun sink toward the curve of the Earth. Ryuu smiled watching it. He felt Fu's arms tighten around him slightly as she rested her head on his shoulder. He smiled, leaning his head against hers as she floated them to the ground. Then, just as they landed, fireworks began to go off. Fu leaned on his shoulder as they watched the fireworks, Ryuu wrapping his arm around her. After nearly forty five minutes, the fireworks finally ended in a massive display of color and explosions. Fu turned into Ryuu, wrapping her arms around him and sighing contentedly. Ryuu smiled, tucking his own head into her shoulder and smiling against her skin.

After a few minutes, he pulled back, kissing her before pulling away and smiling. "Come on. We should get some sleep before we head back tomorrow."

Fu nodded and they walked back to the hotel room. They took turns showering to wash the chlorine off before Ryuu dried himself with chakra and climbed into bed in a pair of boxers. A few minutes later, Fu climbed in, cuddling up to him and he sighed, feeling her skin against his, again. He didn't bother to say anything about it. There was nothing he could say that he hadn't before. He couldn't blame her though. The full moon had only been a day or two ago.

After a few minutes, Fu turned her head slightly, gently kissing his cheek, his hand moving to where hers was resting over his heart, wrapping his fingers around her hand. She smiled, squeezing his fingers lightly for a moment. She lifted her head, Ryuu looking down at her. She smiled, staring at him for a moment before kissing him. He kissed her back, one arm still around her and the other holding her hand. She slipped her hand out of his, sliding it up to the back of his neck, pulling him toward her as she deepened the kiss. He moved his hands to her hips, gently guiding her to move on top of him so he wouldn't have to hold his head at an awkward angle. She complied, resting her arms on the bed beside his head. His hands splayed on her back, pulling her tighter against him. Suddenly, she wrapped her lips around his bottom one, sucking it gently for half a second before nipping it gently. Not enough to hurt, more just grazing it with her teeth.

Ryuu pulled away, breathing harder than he expected himself to be his throat feeling dry, making his voice husky and hoarse. "Fu."

"Sorry," Fu said, sitting up. "I didn't mean to. I wasn't thinking."

Ryuu sat up, kissing her again, the kiss being every bit as needy and passionate as it was a moment ago. After a moment, he pulled back, Fu having to stop herself from following him, releasing a long sigh.

"That's not what I meant," Ryuu said. "I just meant to be careful. We're still young. Yugao would have a bird if she saw us doing anything even remotely like this."

"You're right," Fu said. "I'm sorry."

Ryuu shook his head, kissing her. "I didn't want you to apologize, and I didn't want you to stop. Just don't rush."

Fu nodded, kissing him again, the kiss instantly as passionate as it had been before. Ryuu lay back down, bringing Fu with him and she sighed, as his arms wrapped around her again, pulling her tighter to him. Then, he gently sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, grazing it lightly with his teeth as she had before, Fu sighing shakily as he did. As soon as he released her lip, she captured his, sucking a little harder this time before biting down with a bit more force, running her tongue across it. Ryuu groaned and Fu's tongue slipped into his mouth as she released his lip. His own tongue met hers and they began to dance and duel. The kiss slowed a bit as they did, both taking their time exploring each other's mouths and tasting each other's tongues. It was a really weird feeling, and one Ryuu would have never expected to be as fun or feel as good as it did. Finally, Fu pulled back, both panting like they had just sprinted halfway around Konoha.

"Wow," Fu breathed after a moment.

Ryuu smiled, unable to force himself to speak, so he simply kissed her chastely for a moment before dropping his head back to the pillow, staring up at Fu. She smiled as she stared down at him, smiling. He smiled as well, staring at her as if trying to memorize her face.

"What?" Fu asked.

"You're so beautiful," Ryuu smiled. "How did I ever make you fall in love with me?"

"You accepted me," Fu smiled. "Right from the beginning you never once judged me for what I was. No one else ever accepted me completely like you. They would say I was too childish, or too weird. If they found out about Chomei, it was almost always an instant end to them being willing to speak to me. But you were instantly willing to be my friend, even after I told you what I was. And I could see in your eyes that me being a Jinchuriki didn't even faze you for a second. You were surprised, sure, but you never cared. You have no idea how happy I was that you were different from everyone else. And, of course, it helped that you were passably handsome. I mean, you're no Sasuke, but at least you're no Choji."

"Ouch," Ryuu smirked. "Only passable, huh? I'm hurt."

Fu smiled, kissing him again and he smirked, kissing her back. After a couple of minutes, Ryuu trailed his tongue across her lower lip, Fu's own tongue meeting his, their tongues beginning to dance again. As they did, Ryuu held her a little tighter, their tongues' dance speeding up, both beginning to fight for dominance. Finally, they separated to take a breath, Ryuu capturing Fu's lower lip again before she could catch his. As before, he repaid her for her earlier torment, sucking her lower lip as he bit down on it gently, running his tongue across it. Fu shuddered at the feeling, moaning and pressing harder against him. He released her and she almost instantly captured his lip, returning the gesture. He fought back the groan that wanted to escape, grinning. He could see where this was going. He nipped at her upper lip just as she released his lower one, then captured hers, repeating the process, Fu sighing letting out a shaky breath as he did. Then, as soon as he released her lip, her tongue slipped into his mouth, fighting his again. After a moment, she pulled it back, capturing his lip and once again sucking on it, dragging her tongue across it repeatedly this time, holding his lip for several seconds. Then, as she released it, she did so slowly, letting her teeth drag against it on the way. Ryuu groaned, holding her tightly, feeling her hips shift slightly against his lower abdomen, barely enough for him to notice, but he did. He captured her lip once again, once again repaying her in kind before pulling her down a little harder, also pulling her hips a fraction of an inch lower, making them drag against him. There was a definite reaction this time. Fu gasped, hips shifting a bit more on their own as a moan escaped her, her lips closing around his upper one, sucking almost desperately on it.

Ryuu pulled away, opening his eyes and seeing the blush stretching across Fu's face and seeing the conflict in her eyes. He realized just how hard she was fighting not to go too far, not that they hadn't already gone further than they should have. He swallowed hard, fighting to get himself under control.

"I'm sorry," Ryuu said.

"It's okay," Fu smiled. "We should probably go to sleep."

Ryuu nodded, giving her a quick peck on the lips before she rested her head on his chest, smiling as she felt his heart still hammering away in his chest, just as fast as her own was. Both closed their eyes, fighting to find sleep. Finally, after nearly an hour, both succeeded.

* * *

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	65. Chapter 65

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Painter

Ryuu glanced at Fu as they neared the village. She was unusually quiet today, but she didn't seem mad, or upset. More like she was thinking.

"You okay?" Ryuu asked.

"I'm fine," Fu smiled. "I just..."

"What is it?" Ryuu asked.

"I'm really sorry," Fu said. "I shouldn't have let it get that far."

"In case you didn't notice, I wasn't trying to stop you," Ryuu said. "You have nothing to apologize for. I'm not mad."

"You're not?" Fu asked.

"Of course not," Ryuu smiled. "Last night was the best night of my life. I got to spend the entire day with you, and I got to spend half the night making out with you. What is there to be mad about."

"Going too far," Fu said quietly, blushing slightly.

"I don't regret anything," Ryuu said. "And I never will."

Fu smiled and nodded, slipping her hand into his. "Thank you."

"Any time," Ryuu smiled.

Just then, they reached a hill overlooking the village, finding Naruto lying on his back, and a girl in a pink kimono off to the side, painting. Ryuu blinked.

"Who's that?" Ryuu asked, nodding at the girl.

"I don't know," Fu said.

"Hey Ryuu, hey Fu," Naruto greeted before spotting the girl.

He walked toward her, Ryuu and Fu following. As they reached her, Ryuu saw that she was painting the village, and doing an amazing job of it.

"You're an amazing artist," Ryuu said before noticing the rainclouds over the village in the painting, even though it was a beautiful, sunny day.

"Hey, there's no rain clouds today," Naruto said.

The girl said nothing, using white to trace a portion of cloud, creating the flash of lightning in her painting. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of Ryuu's neck stood on end and he looked up, seeing dark clouds forming above them, filling the sky, lightning flashing high up in them.

"What the..." Ryuu breathed, staring at the clouds, Naruto and Fu doing the same.

Suddenly, the girl swiped down the painting with white, the white streak seeming to glow suddenly before a bolt of lightning shot out of the sky, blasting the roof of the Academy, exploding and starting a fire.

"The Hokage's House!" Naruto gaped.

Ryuu activated his Sharingan, staring at the painting. It was just a painting, and yet, staring at it made the back of his neck tingle. He stared at the girl, having the same feeling, yet seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Something was clearly off, though. There was no way it was a coincidence that she painted a lightning bolt striking the Academy and then suddenly it happened.

"Who are you?" Ryuu asked.

She didn't answer, simply walking away with her packed up painting supplies. Ryuu stared at the Academy, seeing two streams of water being sprayed on the building already.

"Fu, go see if you can help with the fire," Ryuu said. "And make sure no one's hurt."

Fu nodded, extending her wings and taking off toward the Academy. Naruto and Ryuu chased after the girl.

"Wait!" Ryuu called out. "Stop right there!"

Suddenly, a pair of Medical Shinobi with Hidden Leaf Headbands appeared, one grabbing her as the other injected a sedative. As Ryuu and Naruto rushed forward, an ANBU appeared in front of them wearing a dog mask with two green markings on each cheek and with short messy brown hair.

"Naruto Uzumaki, Ryuu Uchiha, you both need to leave this area immediately," the ANBU said. "You are not to breath a word of what you saw here."

Ryuu blinked in surprise, watching as the ANBU walked over to the two Medical Shinobi and the unconscious girl.

"Wait a minute!" Naruto shouted. "You need to tell me what the hell is going on here!"

"Don't try to interfere," the ANBU warned.

Then, a cloud of smoke shot up around them, all of them vanishing. Ryuu stared at the spot they had occupied a moment before before letting his Sharingan deactivate.

"Naruto," Ryuu said. "We need to head back to the village."

Naruto nodded and they turned, heading to the village. Once there, Ryuu headed to the Academy, heading for Tsunade's office and stopping outside the door, finding Sakura eavesdropping. He silently walked around her, leaning on the wall opposite the door from her.

"Alright Kurenai," Tsunade said. "If you think it's best for you to step down, then that's up to you. I'll start finding a new Jonin to take over as Team Eight's captain."

Ryuu's eyes widened and he backed away from the door, motioning for Sakura to leave, which she did instantly. Then, Ryuu walked toward the door again as it opened and Kurenai glanced at him, smiling, before turning and walking away. Ryuu stepped into the Hokage's office and closed the door, placing a silencing seal on it.

"Ryuu?" Tsunade said. "Welcome back. Is something up?"

"Who is she?" Ryuu asked.

"Who?" Tsunade asked.

"The girl that created the storm and made a lightning bolt hit the Academy by painting it," Ryuu said. "Before I could speak with her, two Medical Core shinobi knocked her out and an ANBU told me and Naruto both to leave it alone before disappearing. So who is she?"

"Shouldn't you be leaving it alone if an ANBU ordered you to?" Tsunade asked.

"Okay, fine," Ryuu said. "Be that way. I assume Kurenai quit in order to deal with the situation, so I'll just follow her."

He opened the door to leave only to stop as Tsunade spoke.

"Ryuu," Tsunade said. "This doesn't concern you."

"On the contrary," Ryuu said. "When someone tries to assassinate my Hokage, it's my duty as a Hidden Leaf Shinobi to find out who and why."

With that, he walked out of the room, leaving the building and heading toward home, only to find Fu and Tayuya walking toward him.

"There you are," Tayuya said. "Yugao wants to talk to you."

Ryuu nodded, following them back to their house, finding Yugao standing in the back yard with Kurenai. He stopped as he saw Kurenai.

"Ryuu," Yugao said. "You're not supposed to be talking about it."

"So you heard already, huh?" Ryuu smirked. "Figures. Are either of you going to fill me in?"

"Her name is Yakumo Kurama," Kurenai said.

"Ah, the infamous Kurama clan," Ryuu nodded. "Genjutsu Kekkei Genkai, if I remember correctly."

"That's right," Kurenai said. "When she was younger, I was assigned as her sensei. I was supposed to teach her to control the Kekkei Genkai. But it was more powerful with her than the others. However, she has health issues, she's not physically strong enough to be a shinobi. She had heard about Lee trying to become a genin using Taijutsu alone back then, and she wanted to be like him. She wanted to be a genin through Genjutsu alone. But I didn't have enough faith in her. I refused her request to be trained as a shinobi. When she refused to give up, I placed a sealing jutsu on her, blocking her power."

"Why?" Ryuu asked. "Is there something dangerous about the Kekkei Genkai?"

"Yes," Kurenai nodded. "The Kekkei Genkai is so powerful, that there are cases where the shinobi that has it can't control its full power. In those cases, a second personality is born. This personality is referred to as Ido. It's a monster that thrives on fear, hate, and destruction, and that takes control of the shinobi, using their Kekkei Genkai to kill. The reason it's a secret, is that the Third Hokage ordered me to train her, and that, if I couldn't teach her to control the Kekkei Genkai, thereby destroying the Ido, I would have to seal the Ido and the Kekkei Genkai both away."

"So, in a way, she's like a Genjutsu Jinchuriki?" Ryuu asked.

"I suppose that's one way to look at it," Kurenai nodded.

"Hold on," Tayuya said. "I'm confused. How can this Ido thing kill if the Kekkei Genkai is just Genjutsu?"

"The Kekkei Genkai isn't normal Genjutsu," Ryuu said. "It's Genjutsu so powerful that it becomes real."

"No way," Tayuya breathed. "That's possible?"

"Only if you're a Kurama, and lucky enough to have the Kekkei Genkai," Ryuu said. "Anyway, what changed?"

"The monster took control of her and burned Yakumo's home, killing her parents, but she didn't know about the Ido," Kurenai explained. "She thought the fire was started by order of the Third Hokage, believing that we intended to kill her for being a threat."

Ryuu nodded. "Yeah, that'd probably make me mad too. What do we do?"

"I'm going to go and see her tomorrow," Kurenai said. "I need to ensure that the Ido hasn't taken control."

"And I'm guessing you want me to help since I have the ability to see through Genjutsu?" Ryuu asked.

"Yes," Kurenai said.

"Alright," Ryuu nodded. "But why not now?"

"Just trust me on this, okay?" Kurenai asked. "We leave tomorrow. Tayuya and Fu will be coming with us."

Ryuu nodded and Kurenai left. Ryuu sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Then, he turned, heading inside to get something to eat.

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	66. Chapter 66

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Kekkei Genkai

Ryuu looked around as he walked, careful to keep his senses extended and keep watch for any signs of Genjutsu. So far, nothing. He was actually kind of disappointed. He wanted to see what the world's most powerful Genjutsu looked like. More than just one bolt of lightning.

"Don't let your guard down," Kurenai said.

Just then, Yomo cawed overhead and everyone glanced at Ryuu.

"Company," Ryuu said.

Just then, roots burst out of the ground below them all, wrapping around them, beginning to crush them. The others, minus Kurenai, both struggled against the roots, but Ryuu and Kurenai dispelled their personal genjutsus, then freed one of the others. Two shinobi stepped out of the trees, glaring at the four of them.

"Who are you?" Yugao asked.

"They have the Kurama Clan symbol tattooed on their shoulders," Ryuu said. "Hold on."

He appeared behind them, placing paralysis seals on them and the others walked over, stopping above them.

"Now, why are you two here?" Ryuu asked a bald one with a short fu manchu mustache.

"We'll never tell you!" the man said.

"I could use a genjutsu to force you to say, if you would prefer," Ryuu said. "It'd be painful for you, though."

The man kept his mouth shut so Ryuu sighed. He looked into the man's eyes and the man's eyes widened before dulling.

"We're...here to...kill...Yakumo," the man said, struggling to resist and doing an admirable job. "Before...she can...cause...more trouble."

Ryuu sighed, putting both to sleep with a genjutsu before standing. "We need to go."

They all sprinted along the path just as a voice screamed. Kurenai took off, speeding away from the others and Ryuu slowed to a stop outside the villa. Just as he did, he sensed someone on his right. He turned, finding an old man with grey hair and a purple kimono glaring at him.

"Yeah, genjutsu doesn't work on me," Ryuu said. "How about you?"

He placed the man under a genjutsu that he was being restrained by the tree behind him. After several moments of struggling, he broke free, glaring at Ryuu.

Ryuu nodded, smiling. The man was skilled. However, Ryuu wasn't in the mood for a fight. So, he sprinted forward, the man drawing a kunai only for Ryuu to slam a hand into his abdomen, placing a paralysis seal on him as well. A few moments later, Kurenai returned.

"Yakumo is resting inside," Kurenai said. "Can you go and make sure she's safe?"

Ryuu nodded, heading inside and sitting down beside Yakumo's bed. A few minutes later, Naruto walked in, sitting beside him.

"Did anyone fill you in?" Ryuu asked.

"No," Naruto said. "I don't know anything that's going on."

"I see," Ryuu nodded. "Blind faith is a beautiful thing."

"Care to explain?" Naruto asked.

"I can," Yakumo said, staring at the ceiling. "That woman hates me. She wants to kill me."

"That's complete bullshit," Ryuu said. "Kurenai cares about you. She just didn't know how to help you."

"That's not true," Yakumo said. "I begged her to train me and she refused. Instead, she sealed my powers. One day, I overheard her and the Third Hokage talking about me. The Third Hokage said that my power would threaten the Hidden Leaf Village. He ordered Kurenai to eliminate the threat. Coincidentally, a few days later, my home caught on fire, killing my parents. But the fire spread too quickly, and it was too hot. My parents died in a fire in broad daylight."

"No," Ryuu said. "The Hokage never ordered you or your family killed. And Kurenai didn't seal your powers because she hated you, it was to protect you."

"How?" Yakumo asked.

"Your Kekkei Genkai is extremely powerful," Ryuu said. "You can change reality to your liking. Many with your abilities have lost their minds."

"What would you know about it?" Yakumo demanded.

"More than you think," Ryuu sighed. "I was taught about your family because I liked studying Genjutsu."

Yakumo glared at him. Ryuu sighed, shrugging. As he did, Tayuya walked in, knocking on the door frame.

"We need to leave," Tayuya said. "We're supposed to take her back to the village. Kurenai and Guy went on ahead."

Ryuu nodded and stood. Yakumo continued to glare at her so Naruto stepped forward, lifting her onto his back. They left the building, finding Fu and Kiba's team waiting. They all left the villa, following the road back toward the village. As they walked, Fu stepped up beside him, slipping her hand into his.

"What are we going to do?" Fu asked.

"I'm not sure," Ryuu said. "We'll figure it out."

Fu nodded and they walked in silence, Ryuu keeping his senses extended as they did. He glanced at Yakumo who glared back at him. He sighed just as they reached the top of a hill overlooking Konoha. What they saw horrified them. Konoha was in ruins. The buildings had been blasted apart, the remains covered in layers of ash and dust. A thin fog drifted through the village.

"What...what happened?" Natsu gaped.

Ryuu activated his Sharingan, staring at the village. Nothing changed.

"Is it a Genjutsu?" Shino asked.

"I...I don't know," Ryuu said.

"Let's go and check it out," Kiba said. "Maybe there's someone in there who's hurt."

"I highly doubt it," Ryuu said. "The damage looks...ancient. I doubt there's anyone here."

"Even still," Hinata said. "We have to make sure."

Ryuu nodded and they headed down into the village. As they walked, Ryuu and Hinata scanned for any sign of survivors, finding nothing. Ryuu kept his Sharingan active, constantly looking around with it. Something seemed off about the village, aside from the fact that it was destroyed. It had to be a genjutsu, but no matter how many times he tried to break it, he couldn't. Finally, he stopped and turned to Yakumo.

"Is this you?" he asked.

Yakumo shook her head. Then, her eyes widened and she gasped harshly before bursting into a cloud of ash, coating Naruto and turning his blonde hair grey. He coughed and walked forward out of the cloud, looking back.

"Did she just...die?" Naruto asked.

"No," Ryuu said. "It's a Genjutsu. She's had us in a Genjutsu for a while. But her Genjutsus...they're different. I can see through Genjutsus that rely on chakra, sight, even sound-based ones. But hers...I can't see through hers. It's too powerful. I can't break free."

"I might be able to," Tayuya said. "My flute, maybe I can cancel her Genjutsu with one of my own."

"It'd have to be ridiculously powerful," Ryuu said.

"Maybe we could help," Fu said. "We could use two or three Genjutsus at the same time to increase the power."

"Good idea," Ryuu nodded before a thought occurred to him. "Tayuya, how would you get out?"

"You can make Yakumo release me," Tayuya said. "I owe you all a huge debt. This is my way of repaying it."

"Okay," Ryuu said. "We'll start with Shino."

Tayuya nodded, beginning to play her flute as Shino pulled his glasses off, revealing dark brown eyes. Ryuu smirked, casting a Genjutsu using his Sharingan, Fu resting a hand on his head, using her chakra to add her own. A moment later, Shino burst into a cloud of dust. Hinata came next, then Akamaru, Kiba, and Naruto. Finally, it was only Ryuu and his team. He looked around. He didn't want Tayuya trapped in the Genjutsu alone.

"Maybe I could put a time release seal on you that would cause a Genjutsu," Ryuu suggested.

"It's possible," Tayuya nodded. "Do you know one?"

"I-"

Thunder crashed overhead. They all looked up, the sky beginning to turn blood red. Then, lightning shot out of the sky, exploding in the middle of their circle, hurling them all. Ryuu crashed down hard, groaning. Genjutsu or not, that hurt. He pushed himself into a sitting position, looking around and seeing Tayuya was unconscious, Fu already on her feet, running toward Tayuya with her flute. Ryuu looked up again, seeing several fireballs falling toward Fu and Tayuya. He growled in rage, jumping into the air over them, forming hand seals.

"Fire Style, Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" he shouted, exhaling a dozen fireballs, blocking the ones falling at them, causing a massive explosion.

He landed beside Tayuya, forming hand seals rapidly, and placing his hand over her eyes. Just as he pulled his hand away, Fu sent a pulse of chakra into Tayuya, forcing her awake. Tayuya sat up, gasping for breath, then screamed. Ryuu spun, instinctively forming a Water Blade and blocking a stone katana. Before him was a stone statue of a samurai.

"I'm getting so fucking sick of this Genjutsu," Ryuu snarled.

Fu stepped past him, slashing the samurai several times with her own Water Blade, slicing it into pieces. Ryuu turned instantly, Tayuya beginning to play her Flute. Ryuu formed several hand seals using his chakra on both Fu and Tayuya, looking both in the eye. Then, the world turned black.

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	67. Chapter 67

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Ido

Ryuu sat bolt upright, gasping for breath and looking around. Hinata and the others were kneeling around him and Fu, except Kiba, who was kneeling over Tayuya, kunai raised to drive into her chest. Ryuu appeared beside him, catching his arms, kunai hovering over her chest. Fu sat up as Ryuu and Kiba had a glaring contest. Finally, Kiba stood, stepping back and growling angrily.

"You better fucking explain right fucking now," Kiba snarled. "Why is this Sound Village bitch alive?"

"Because I saved her life," Ryuu said, everyone staring at her, Kiba snarling angrily. "She was wounded, I saved her life, and I brought her here. I treated her wounds, I healed her, and then I asked Tsunade to give her a chance as a Konoha Shinobi."

"Why the hell would you do that?" Kiba snarled.

"Because she followed Orochimaru out of fear, not loyalty," Ryuu said. "You can't begin to imagine what she's been through. What Orochimaru did to her."

"I can't begin to care!" Kiba snarled. "Her friends nearly killed Neji, Choji, and Akamaru!"

"You're right," Tayuya said, opening her eyes and making no move to stand. "I'm as responsible for what happened to your friends and your dog as the others were. You have every right to kill me. I won't stop you."

"Well alright then," Kiba said, driving the kunai at her chest again.

"Kiba stop!" Hinata shouted.

Before it could reach her, Ryuu's tanto blocked it, stopping it in place instantly.

"Kiba, put it away," Ryuu growled. "I understand your anger and distrust, but Tayuya is my teammate and my friend. Put it away or you'll have to go through me."

"Get out of my way, Ryuu," Kiba snarled. "Or else I _will_ go through you."

Ryuu narrowed his eyes, shoving Kiba's kunai away and pulling Tayuya up, pushing her behind himself. "Last warning Kiba. Back off."

"Kiba just stop it!" Hinata pleaded.

"Now's not the time you two," Shino said. "Enough."

"Don't worry," Ryuu said. "I'll make this quick."

Kiba slashed at Ryuu and Ryuu deflected the knife, driving his free hand at Kiba. Kiba twisted out of the way of the strike, slashing Ryuu across the face with his free hand's claws. Ryuu staggered away, gritting his teeth. Kiba stepped past him, slashing at Tayuya only for Ryuu to catch his arm. Kiba drove his free hand at her and Ryuu kicked it out to the side before smashing his knee into Kiba's face, flipping him and slamming him to the ground. He slammed his palm into Kiba's chest, placing a paralysis seal on him before standing, glaring down at him.

"You're lucky we're in a hurry," Ryuu snarled. "We'll settle this after we save Yakumo and Kurenai."

He turned, sprinting back toward the villa, the others all following in silence. When they reached the villa, Ryuu sped ahead of the others, Naruto keeping pace with him. They both jumped, blasting through the window. They flipped, landing at a sprint, heading for Yakumo's room. But just as they reached it, the door burst into flames. Ryuu skidded to a stop, growling in annoyance. He looked down at his hands, both of which still had electrical burns and some scratches from having been blown up by the lightning bolt in the Genjutsu.

"Genjutsu so powerful it can actually kill you," Ryuu said.

"What?" Naruto asked, looking at him.

"If we go through that fire, Genjutsu or no, it'll kill us," Ryuu said.

"What do we do?" Naruto asked.

"I have an idea," Ryuu said. "Ready?"

Naruto nodded. Then, Ryuu grabbed his shirt, punching him and knocking him out. He hurled Naruto's limp form through the flames, sending him blasting through the door. He could see Naruto stir inside of the room, and Kurenai behind him, half her body missing. Ryuu sighed, taking a deep breath. Then, he sprinted forward, forming hand seals.

"Ninja Art, Stasis!" Ryuu said, instantly going limp and crashing to the ground, rolling to a stop.

Naruto and Yakumo both stared at him, then, he gasped for breath, sitting up and groaning.

"I'm so glad that worked," Ryuu grumbled, standing and lookin at Kurenai. "You okay?"

"I'm alright," Kurenai said.

"She won't be for long," Yakumo said. "I'm going to kill her before she can kill me."

"She's not going to kill you Yakumo," Ryuu said. "I told you, Kurenai cares about you."

"She sealed my powers!" Yakumo shouted.

"Because they were starting to control you!" Ryuu said. "That's the biggest secret of your Kekkei Genkai!"

"Ryuu!" Kurenai said.

"She deserves to know!" Ryuu said. "She's gone her whole life being afraid because she didn't know! You made the mistake of hiding it from her years ago! That's how this all started! You didn't have faith in Yakumo! Have faith in her now!"

Kurenai stared at him in silence for several seconds before nodding. "The order the Third Hokage gave me wasn't to kill you or your family."

"Then what was it?" Yakumo asked.

"He wanted me to train you to control your abilities," Kurenai said. "When I sealed them away, I doomed you to lose control. And he knew that. The threat he was referring to wasn't you or your family. It was you losing control of you Kekkei Genkai. Your powers are so powerful, that your ancestors used to lose control, and the darkness of their minds became a separate consciousness. One that was bent on destruction. One that was formed of your anger, and your pain, and your hate. When I sealed away your power, I caused you a lot of that. I made the dark side of our mind more powerful than I could have ever imagined. That's why your parents died. The dark side of your mind took control of you."

"You're lying!" Yakumo accused. "You killed my family!"

"No," Ryuu said. "You did, Yakumo. The Ido, the dark side of your consciousness took control of your powers and started a fire with them, one that spread too fast and too strong in broad daylight. It killed your parents, and you repressed the memories."

"You're lying!" Yakumo screamed.

"No," Ryuu said. "You know. You remember."

Yakumo stared at him before looking to a picture of her family lying in a burning hallway. The ink began to run, leaving the painting to reveal a picture of the house burning from the outside, Yakumo standing before it.

"I'm sorry, Yakumo," Ryuu said.

"You're...you're right," Yakumo said, tears forming in her eyes and spilling down her cheeks. "I killed my family. I can't control my power. I'm a threat to the village. To my family. I tried to kill Kurenai Sensei!"

"You don't have to be a threat," Ryuu said. "You can still take control."

"You're right," Yakumo said, staring at her paint trowel. "I have to take control."

Then, she drove it at her own throat. Ryuu's eyes widened, but before he could react, a painting of Yakumo off to the side suddenly changed, becoming a brown-skinned demon-looking thing with three eyes, horns jutting out from the sides of its head, and clawed fingers, one hand holding the trowel, having saved Yakumo, and by extension, itself.

"What are you doing?" the painting hissed. "You would kill us over something so trivial? All I've done is protect you. Your parents put all their hopes and dreams on you, a frail little girl. They were putting all that pressure on you. So I removed them. Kurenai Sensei tried to separate us, tried to rob you of your power, so I have to remove her. The Hokage ordered her to do it. So I have to remove the Hokage."

"Don't listen to it Yakumo," Ryuu said. "You don't have to let this thing exist. Controlling your power doesn't mean killing yourself. The power belongs to you, not this thing. Take it back."

Yakumo stared at him before spinning, driving the trowel into the Ido's head. It screamed in agony, shrinking back into the painting, taking the trowel with it. Then, it faded, leaving a picture of Yakumo again. Yakumo sniffed, a painting of Kurenai off to the side, which had been partially painted over, began to shed its excess paint, Kurenai's body reappearing as it did. Then, Yakumo formed a hand sign, the room around them returning to its natural, non-endless-void form. Kurenai stepped forward, hugging Yakumo and Yakumo hugged her back. The door opened after a moment and Fu walked in, staring at them.

"Is it over?" Fu asked.

"Yes," Kurenai nodded. "It's over."

"So, will you train her?" Ryuu asked.

"Yes," Kurenai nodded. "I'll teach her to control her power as best I can."

"Good," Ryuu nodded. "And maybe Rock Lee can help her get stronger."

"She has a medical condition," Kurenai said.

"And the Nara clan has a medical book the size of a table and a foot tall," Ryuu said. "I think they've got it covered."

Kurenai nodded, smiling. "Maybe. What do you think, Yakumo? Do you want to come back to the village with us and see if you can become a shinobi?"

Yakumo's eyes were wide with surprise and hope. She nodded, grinning widely. They all walked outside, finding Kurenai's team waiting, Kiba still paralyzed and lying beside Shino.

"What's going on?" Kurenai asked.

"Kiba disagrees with one of my teammates," Ryuu said. "So I paralyzed him to stop the fight."

Kurenai stared at him before shaking her head and walking over, breaking the seal. Kiba stood and Kurenai stared at him before sighing.

"I expect you three to be ready to train tomorrow morning," Kurenai said, all three's eyes widening before they nodded. "And Yakumo will probably be joining us."

Again they nodded.

"And Kiba," Kurenai said. "Regardless of what she's done, or what you think about her, Tayuya has become a Hidden Leaf Shinobi. You are not to attack her. Understood?"

"Fine," Kiba growled. "Ryuu, we're finishing that fight."

"Whenever you're ready to die Kiba," Ryuu said. "But for now, let's just go home."

Kiba grumbled a response before nodding and they all headed back to the village.

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	68. Chapter 68

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Reinforcements

Ryuu stepped into the third training ground, finding Kiba and his team waiting, Shino standing silently off to the side and Hinata pleading with Kiba not to fight Ryuu. Behind Ryuu, Fu followed in silence, fully supporting Ryuu, and Tayuya followed behind both, having given up trying to convince Ryuu not to protect her.

"You ready to lose Ryuu?" Kiba snarled.

"I'm going to do you a favor and make this quick and humiliating," Ryuu said, cracking his knuckles.

Kiba charged, slashing at Ryuu with his claws rapidly. Ryuu had healed the scratch Kiba had given him before, but they had left for scars, barely paler than the rest of his skin, making them practically invisible. The scars were on his left cheek, angled from the corner of his jaw up toward his eye but only reaching a couple inches.

Ryuu knocked a slash upward finally and slammed a punch into Kiba's gut, Kiba lifting off the ground nearly a foot, doubled over in the air. Then, Ryuu clasped his hands on his left, swinging them around and bashing Kiba away from himself. Kiba bounced once and flipped, landing on his hands and feet and snarling.

"As soon as I beat the shit out of you, I'm going to make that red-haired whore my bitch!" Kiba snarled. "And then I'm going to rip her guts out and feed them to her!"

"And yet you still haven't made it past me," Ryuu said.

Kiba growled and charged, streaking toward Ryuu only for Ryuu to appear in front of him, slamming a kick into his face as if his head were a soccer ball. Kiba flew backward, crashing into a tree and dropping, clutching at his shattered nose. Ryuu watched him in silence.

"That's enough, Kiba," Ryuu said. "It's over."

"Hardly!" Kiba snarled, readying himself again. "That bitch has to pay!"

He shot forward, Ryuu sighing. Then, Kiba shot past Ryuu, stabbing his claws at Tayuya. However, just before they hit her, Ryuu appeared in his path, Kiba's claws driving themselves into Ryuu's gut, Kiba freezing instantly. Ryuu pulled his arm away, healing his stomach, then picked Kiba up by the throat.

"Enough, Kiba," Ryuu said. "This is over. You're going to leave her alone. You're not going to fight me like this again. And if I do, I'll be letting Kurenai know you are going against her orders. Understood?"

Kiba growled before relaxing, nodding. Ryuu set him down and Kiba sighed, staring at his hand.

"I'm sorry," Kiba said. "I didn't mean to stab you."

"No, you meant to stab my teammate," Ryuu said. "Don't worry. I'm not holding a grudge."

Kiba nodded and turned to leave, hesitating. "Thanks for not ratting me out."

Then, he left the field, Shino following.

"Thank you Ryuu," Hinata said. "I'm sorry about the way he's acting."

Then, she hurried after her team, Ryuu sighed and rubbing the inside corners of his eyes.

"Why did you do that for me?" Tayuya asked.

"Because you're my friend," Ryuu said. "Kiba's being an asshole, but he'll get over himself soon enough. He just needs time."

"I hope so," Tayuya mumbled.

Ryuu turned to his two teammates and sighed. "Anyone else hungry?"

"Kiba made you work up an appetite?" Fu asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ryuu shrugged.

"Sure," Fu smiled. "I can eat."

"When can you not?" Ryuu snorted.

"I'll come too," Tayuya smiled.

Ryuu nodded and they all left the training ground, heading to Yakiniku Q's. Fu and Tayuya went to sit down as Ryuu stopped, spotting Shikamaru, who was staring at Tayuya, as was Choji. Ryuu sighed, walking over to them and stopping.

"So, I suppose you'd like an explanation," Ryuu said, both nodding once.

"What the hell is she doing in our village?" Shikamaru asked.

"She's on my team," Ryuu said. "I found her after your fight, half-dead and pinned. You had left her, so I assume you thought she was dead."

Shikamaru nodded.

"Well, I healed her enough to get her back to the village, then treated her injuries while working information out of her. What I found out is that she was never loyal to Orochimaru."

"Could have fooled me," Choji said.

"She served him, yes, but she wasn't loyal," Ryuu said. "She was afraid of him. Terrified. He used to torture and rape her almost daily. So when she had the opportunity to stop it by being his bodyguard, she took it. like anyone would. Then she was just too afraid to run away. If he ever caught her, she would be tortured to death."

"But why is she here?" Choji asked.

"Tsunade," Shikamaru said. "You asked Tsunade to give her a chance to join, right?"

"I did," Ryuu nodded. "She just had to show she wasn't a threat to us. And so far, she hasn't shown any sign of hostility toward us."

"Who else knows?" Shikamaru asked.

"Everyone from the team besides Neji," Ryuu said.

"I see," Shikamaru nodded. "Well, if Tsunade's accepted her, then there's really nothing we can do about it. What a drag."

"Kiba tried to kill her," Ryuu said. "I ended up fighting him twice to stop him."

"I'll talk to Kiba," Shikamaru said. "And I'll give Neji a heads up. Just be careful. I wouldn't trust her."

"I know," Ryuu said. "That's why she's on _my_ team. In order to earn someone's trust, it has to be given first."

Shikamaru sighed and nodded. "Hey, by the way, did you hear? Apparently Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro are teaching Suna's new academy."

"Suna's got an academy?" Ryuu asked.

"They just started it recently, and they copied Konoha's format," Shikamaru said. "How a woman as mean as Temari ever became a sensei, I'll never know."

"Oh don't pretend you don't like Temari," Ryuu snorted. "I wonder how Gaara's doing."

"What do you mean?" Choji asked.

"I can't imagine many people in Suna would want to be his student," Ryuu said. "I hope he's not too offended."

"That's a good point," Shikamaru said. "I'm sure someone wanted to learn from the most dangerous guy on the planet. It _is_ Suna after all."

Ryuu chuckled, nodding. "Well, anyway, I better go before Fu decides to eat my food for me."

"She probably would too," Shikamaru grinned. "See you later."

Ryuu nodded, walking to their table where Fu was cooking pork on the grill, Tayuya sitting across from her, leaving a seat beside her for Ryuu.

"How did they take it?" Tayuya asked.

"Well," Ryuu said. "They're skeptical, of course, but they're willing to give you a chance."

Tayuya nodded, smiling slightly.

"Now, what are we going to train today?" Ryuu asked. "Speed?"

"You're _always_ training your speed," Tayuya complained.

"I have to keep up with Fu somehow," Ryuu shrugged. "Alright, how about we teach you Taijutsu then, Tayuya?"

"Sure," Tayuya shrugged. "Why not?"

Ryuu smiled, nodding as they all ate quickly before heading back to Ryuu's house. Once there, Ryuu created a clone to run through Taijutsu training with Tayuya. While it did, Fu and Ryuu worked on their own Taijutsu, as well as speed. Finally, after several hours, Ryuu released the clone, turning to Tayuya.

"Alright, let's see what you've learned," Ryuu said.

Tayuya nodded, sprinting forward, moving to throw a punch at him, only to leap back as Yomo shot in front of her face, cawing loudly before circling around and landing on Ryuu's shoulder. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked over at Yomo.

"What's wrong?" RYuu asked, stroking Yomo's head.

Yomo cawed, tilting his head to look up, and Ryuu followed his gaze, eyes instantly picking out a messenger falcon from the Land of Wind. Ryuu turned instantly, sprinting to the Hokage's office, Tayuya and Fu just behind him. As they reached Tsunade's office, Ryuu knocked on the door, the door opening and Shizune letting them in.

"Perfect timing," Tsunade said. "You're going to help Gaara of the Hidden Sand."

"What's happened?" Ryuu asked.

"His student has been kidnapped," Tsunade said. "He and his siblings have been sent to rescue her. You're being sent to aid them."

"Right," Ryuu nodded. "I know exactly who I'm taking."

Tsunade nodded. "You have thirty minutes to gather the team from the Genin. Then you have to leave."

"I'll need Shikamaru as well," Ryuu said.

"Take him," Tsunade said.

"And Sakura," Ryuu said.

"Why?" Tsunade asked.

"Emergency medical team," Ryuu said. "She's better at it than me, but I'm better at combat. If I'm too busy fighting to heal someone, she'll do it."

Tsunade nodded. "You'd better get moving."

Ryuu nodded, leaving and scattering clones to gather the others. He landed at the main gate, Fu landing beside him a moment later. He had chosen to leave Tayuya behind in order to avoid any unnecessary complications with the Sand Siblings recognizing her. As for the others, he had chosen Shikamaru, Choji, Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Ino, and Lee. Hinata, Neji, Sakura, and Shino had been sent out ahead of the rest to scout for the four targets. During the fight, they'd be staying out of the way and heal whoever needed it.

Once everyone had gathered, they all set out, Ryuu explaining that they'd be pairing up. Shikamaru would go with Ino, Naruto with Lee, and Choji with Kiba and Akamaru. Naruto and Lee would be the main offensive force, with Ryuu and Fu coming in just behind them. For a while, they all travelled in silence. Everyone had had the plan explained, and everyone knew the general drill of what would be happening. The main problem would be to actually _find_ the targets.

"Anything yet?" Choji asked.

"I can only sense so far," Ryuu said. "And the further away I try to sense, the less clear the picture is. As for the others, Shino will send word when they find them."

"When will that be?" Kiba asked.

"I don't know Kiba," Ryuu said through clenched teeth. "Let me just consult my crystal ball and get you an answer."

"Hey thanks, that'd be really useful," Kiba said.

"That's enough you two," Shikamaru said. "Kiba, we'll get there when we get there. Until then, quit antagonizing."

Kiba rolled his eyes just as Ryuu stopped, staring off into the distance diagonally ahead and to the left. The others stopped around him, all looking between him and the trees.

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked. "The targets?"

"No," Ryuu said. "It's probably nothing. I just thought I saw something is all. Come on."

He turned, continuing, the others doing the same. Ryuu kept his senses aimed at the spot he thought he saw something, but he couldn't sense anything. Finally, Shino's insects formed words in the air in front of Ryuu and Shikamaru. Ryuu sighed.

"We've spotted them," Ryuu said. "The fighting's begun. Kiba and Choji head to the West from here about half a kilometer. You'll be helping Kankuro. Shikamaru and Ino to the hill to the north. Temari's there. Shikamaru, I'm expecting you to have a date by the end of this."

"Shut up, idiot!" Shikamaru grumbled.

"Naruto, Lee," Ryuu said. "Gaara is in the forest to the northwest about a kilometer."

"What about us?" Fu asked.

"You're going to fly us past Gaara," Ryuu said. "We'll get Matsuri back for him."

Fu nodded, picking him up and extending her wings.

"Alright," Ryuu said. "Good luck everyone. And everyone wish Shikamaru luck with his girlfriend."

"Shut up!" Shikamaru shouted as Ryuu and Fu laughed, Fu flying away.

The others laughed as well before scattering, heading to their fights.

* * *

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	69. Chapter 69

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

White Zetsu's voice.

 **Black Zetsu's voice.**

* * *

Taken

Ryuu scanned the trees as Fu flew. He knew what he had seen. He wouldn't say it in front of the others, including Fu, but he knew. He had seen a face sticking out of the tree. A face with half of it white and the other black. But then he had blinked and it was gone. And there had been no chakra at all. The creature's words from before returned to him. He had thanked him, and yet he hadn't done anything. He had essentially thanked him for nothing. But that didn't make sense. What had he done? And why hadn't Ryuu seen him again since?

Suddenly, a massive dragon made of blue flames shot out of the trees at them, Fu flipping out of the way, allowing Ryuu to blast it with a Water Style jutsu, extinguishing it before they both flew to the ground, knowing exactly who they'd find. Sure enough, Mhao was waiting for them. As they landed, Ryuu drew his tanto, Mhao grinning.

"You'll need more than your usual tricks for this," Mhao grinned as the ground beside him began to rise, forming into a figure that Ryuu instantly recognized.

"Fu, leave, now," Ryuu growled, stepping in front of her.

"What?" Fu blinked. "Why?"

"You're not allowed to be a part of this," Ryuu said as the same creature from the Valley of the End finished forming, still connected to the ground at the ankles.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Fu demanded.

"That creature is an Akatsuki member!" Ryuu snarled, Fu freezing. "We can't beat him. Go home right now and get as many Jonin as you can. Tell Tsunade that the Akatsuki has surfaced, and that I'm fighting one of their members. One who wields Wood Style Ninjutsu."

Fu nodded, turning to leave.

"Fu," Ryuu said. "I love you."

Tears began to run down Fu's cheeks as she formed her wings. "I love you too." She released her gravity seals entirely and exploded off of the ground, streaking away from them.

Ryuu watched the creature as it made no move to follow her. "Hey you, freak-"

"Zetsu," the creature's deeper, gruffer voice said.

"Zetsu," Ryuu said. "Why'd you let her go?"

"We're not ready to begin gathering Jinchuriki," Zetsu's higher voice said. "We're still years away from being ready. By the way, most people differentiate between me and him by saying White Zetsu or Black Zetsu."

"You mean you're two different people?" Ryuu asked.

"That's right," Zetsu said. **"But that's not important right now. Right now, you should be focusing on trying to survive for the three hours it'll take your reinforcements to arrive."**

"I'll be just fine," Ryuu said, undoing his own gravity seals.

Mhao shot toward him, slashing, and Ryuu flipped over him, smashing his feet down on top of Mhao, blasting him into the ground before vanishing just ahead of one of the creature's vines. The creature turned, finding Ryuu standing behind him by about a hundred feet, watching him carefully with his Sharingan. The creature turned to him before shrugging, his Akatsuki robe falling to the ground. Ryuu narrowed his eyes.

"You're a monster," Ryuu said, watching as the venus flytrap piece, which he could now see was actually extending up from the ground inside the cloak, began to open, separating into a dozen thick roots sticking out of Zetsu's waist, the rest sinking into Zetsu's legs as he separated from the ground. "What the hell are you?"

"Me?" Zetsu asked, Mhao standing behind him. "Well, I'm just a tool for the Akatsuki to use. And right now, they've ordered me to kill you."

Ryuu crouched, then leapt to the side as roots burst out of the ground, trying to impale him. Mhao shot forward and Ryuu spun, blasting him at point blank range with a Pressure Damage, sending him flying away. Then, he flipped backward, landing on the side of a tree and vanishing, spikes bursting out of the tree then sinking back into it. Ryuu appeared in front of Zetsu, kicking at him and Zetsu blocked it. Ryuu flipped, slashing with his tanto and Zetsu blocked his forearm. Ryuu's trench knife flashed around and Zetsu leaned back out of the way then flipped, slamming a kick into Ryuu, launching him away. Ryuu flipped, landing on his feet and the hand holding the trench knife, skidding to a stop before leaping away from another tree, spikes once again bursting out of it. Finally, he growled in rage, leaping into the air and spinning, forming hand seals.

"Fire Style, Searing Migraine!" Ryuu shouted, exhaling flame in a spiraling vortex, the flames rapidly spreading into the trees, burning them away to ash as they spread.

He landed on his feet, blocking Mhao's sword with his trench knife and spinning, slashing at Mhao with his tanto, missing but blasting him with an arc of flames. He spun, firing several at Zetsu, but a wall of roots blocked it. Then, a half dozen misshapen clones of Zetsu leapt over the roots, sprinting at Ryuu, who leapt away, the clones rapidly gaining. He set his feet on the ground and vanished, reappearing in front of one of the clones, decapitating it. Then, he leapt away, wooden spikes erupting out of the clone, one of them tearing a gash in the side of his thigh. He landed heavily, forming hand seals as the other clones charged.

"Fire Style, Dragon Flame Caterwaul!" Ryuu shouted, exhaling several dragon-head-shaped fireballs, blasting all of the clones, killing two.

He quickly healed his leg, finishing just in time to turn sideways, a root driving itself through the space he had occupied a moment before. He slashed the root, then kicked the end of it, sending it drilling through one of the clones, then leapt into the air as the other two passed under him. Both leapt at him and he flipped, placing repulsion seals on the bottoms of his feet before kicking both, sending them blasting into Mhao. The seals faded and Ryuu landed off to the side of Zetsu, breathing hard. Zetsu clapped slowly.

"Very impressive," Zetsu said. "You're fast."

"And you're as much a monster as I thought you were," Ryuu said as Mhao stepped up beside Zetsu again. "I'm getting really tired of this."

He sheathed his tanto and knife, forming repulsion seals on his fists. Then, he crouched, readying himself. Mhao attacked first, streaking forward and slashing at him. Ryuu dodged sideways out of the way of the blade and slammed a fist into Mhao's chest, Mhao instantly shooting backward, blasting through the ground in a massive trench before stopping, unconscious but alive.

"My my," Zetsu grinned. "Those are quite dangerous. **I might actually have to get serious now.** "

"What fun," Ryuu growled. "I'm so excited."

Zetsu grinned as the roots around his waits extended, driving themselves down into the ground. A moment later, much, much larger versions exploded out of the ground between Zetsu and Ryuu, shooting toward Ryuu. Ryuu instantly drew his tanto, leaping over them massive roots, all of which wrapped around toward him instantly. He exhaled a Vacuum Blade onto his tanto and slashed the roots as they reached him, flipping and landing on the roots, punching downward with his free hand, the roots exploding into pieces. He landed on the ground, turning and punching the remaining bits between himself and Zetsu, making those explode as well, massive chunks of wood flying past where Zetsu had been. Ryuu blinked, looking around then up, seeing Zetsu above him, arms pulled back over his head. He swung them forward, massive roots exploding out of his hands and forearms, shooting down at Ryuu as over a dozen massive spikes. Ryuu shot to the side, zipping around and around between the spikes as they crashed into the ground. He jumped as one spike in front of him extended more out of the side, then flipped, slashing rapidly and shredding a spike heading at him from above. He flipped, landing against a root and sprinting up it at Zetsu. Zetsu flipped, detaching himself and leaping off of the roots, only for Ryuu to appear behind him, splitting him in half the long way.

Ryuu flipped, landing on his feet as Zetsu's halves crashed to the ground, melting away into goo as the clones had earlier, the goo sinking into the ground. Then, Ryuu spun, using the flat side of his Vacuum Blade to block a root before it could impale him, twisting and shoving off the spike's side, throwing himself away from it. He looked to where the root came from, seeing Zetsu standing there.

"You're pretty good," Zetsu said, Ryuu panting now.

Mhao stepped past Ryuu, making him leap away again, but Mhao simply walked over to Zetsu, stopping beside him and resting his sword on his shoulder.

"We're out of time," Mhao said. "Looks like the Jinchuriki grabbed someone and flew them back, since she's faster that way."

"Who was it?" Zetsu asked.

"Kakashi Hatake," Mhao said.

"Hm, that could be dangerous," Zetsu said. "Alright. I'll deal with him now then."

Suddenly, Ryuu felt like he couldn't breath. White growth sprouted all over his body, growing rapidly until there were three Zetsus growing out of him. He slashed at them but his Vacuum Blade was absorbed and his tanto blade cut through them only for them to reform instantly. He felt what little chakra he had left dropping rapidly. He turned, hurling his tanto and trench knife away from Zetsu and Mhao, Mhao laughing.

"You think we want those?" Mhao scoffed. "In case you didn't notice, I have my own blade and Zetsu doesn't need one."

Ryuu fell to his knees, vision blurring and beginning to darken rapidly, breath coming in panicked, wheezing gasps. He ripped his necklace off, hurling it to the weapons, none of them actually having gone that far, then stood, staggering back toward Zetsu and Mhao, forming hand seals with shaking hands.

"Can he attack?" Mhao asked.

"Not at all," Zetsu smiled. "He's simply fed me the last of his chakra himself."

Ryuu collapsed, struggling to breathe but unconscious.

"Wait, don't kill him," Mhao said.

"But my orders," Zetsu said.

"The Akatsuki wants him out of the way, right?" Mhao asked. "Well, if we hand him over to my master, he will be. And then I won't be punished for killing him."

"I see," Zetsu nodded. "Okay."

The other versions of him left Ryuu's body, leaving him clinging to life, and returned to Zetsu, sinking into him. Mhao handed Zetsu his sword and walked over, dragging Ryuu to Zetsu as well.

"Take him to the Valley of the End," Mhao said. "I'll be waiting there to meet you."

"Oh?" Zetsu asked. "How're you going to accomplish that? Not only am I vastly faster than you, but you're also about to die here."

"Just trust me," Mhao said.

Zetsu nodded, picking up Ryuu and sinking into the ground. A moment later, Fu landed beside Ryuu's weapons and necklace, sensing a tiny bit of his chakra in them. She picked them up, staring at them, before looking to Mhao, who was grinning, twirling a kunai in one hand and holding one in the other hand in reverse grip at his side.

"Where is he?" Fu snarled, boiling red chakra forming over her entire body instantly.

"Dead," Mhao said. "Zetsu took his body back to the others in the Akatsuki. I think he said something about Itachi wanting his eyes. Anyway, yeah, you're boyfriend's history."

Fu screamed in rage, then sank to her knees, sobbing.

"Fu, calm down," Kakashi said. "We don't know that he's dead yet. There's no proof. And he wouldn't have left chakra in his necklace and weapons so you could find them if he was dead, right?"

Fu stared up at him before nodding, standing as Mhao chuckled.

"Whatever you think Kakashi of the Sharingan," Mhao said. "So, shall we see if your Sharingan's any better than that wimp's were?"

"Who exactly is this?" Kakashi asked.

"He's some freak that Ryuu and I have killed three separate times who always comes back to torment us," Fu said. "I'll make sure he can't come back ever again this time."

"Wait," Kakashi said. "Don't destroy the body. Maybe Tsunade and Shizune can learn something by studying it. Like where he came from."

Fu nodded, shooting forward. Mhao flipped over her first slash with Ryuu's tanto, only for the tail behind her to flip up, slamming into him and extending, smashing him into the ground before her. Then, as he stood, she passed, decapitating him. Fu let the chakra fade from her body and fell to her knees again, sobbing anew as Kakashi walked forward to collect the body.

* * *

Zetsu rose out of the ground, dropping Ryuu and raining an eyebrow. The clouds drifted out from in front of the moon, illuminating the pale figure in front of Zetsu.

"You actually _were_ waiting," Zetsu said. " **Impressive.** Here's your sword and your friend."

Mhao took his sword, smiling as blue flames roared along the blade for a moment before settling down. Then, Mhao scooped Ryuu up onto his shoulder. "You have my thanks. I hope all goes well for you and the rest of the Akatsuki."

Zetsu nodded. "And for your master too. **Well I hope we kill his master soon.** Aw, be nice. Although, him fighting Lord Pein again would certainly be fun to watch. Well anyway, goodbye Mhao! **Don't let our paths cross again."**

Then, he sank into the ground and Mhao turned, walking away with his prize.

* * *

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	70. Chapter 70

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Imprisoned

Ryuu groaned as his head throbbed. He slowly opened his eyes, staring up at the ceiling, where odd, swirling designs made their way across his field of view. He could feel his swollen left eye, his broken right arm, and his left shattered kneecap. Except, he didn't remember any of those injuries during his fight with Mhao and Zetsu.

"Don't try to move," a familiar voice warned before Kabuto appeared over him. "You've got several broken bones. I'm tending to them now."

He moved away again, returning to his work, the pain in Ryuu's knee slowly fading a little at a time.

"I wasn't injured in the fight," Ryuu said. "How'd I get broken bones?"

"I'm not sure," Kabuto admitted. "You just showed up like this. I'm not even really sure who brought you to us."

"Mhao," Ryuu guessed. "Mhao did. He claimed that his master wanted me alive, but never said who it was. He's really pale, almost white, and carries a katana with a blue grip and a demon-themed tsuba."

"Mhao?" Kabuto asked. "I don't know a Mhao. And that description doesn't sound very familiar either. He must have been powerful to beat you, though."

"I only lost because I was fighting both him and Zetsu from the Akatsuki," Ryuu said. "Mhao I've beaten before. Actually, I've killed him before. Like three times. And then I burned his body away to ash each time, but he was still there."

"That's impossible," Kabuto said.

"Tell me something I don't know," Ryuu said. "But it's true."

Kabuto remained silent as he began to work on Ryuu's arm. "I'll see what I can find out. In the mean time, allow me to explain why you're here. It's Orochimaru's goal to discover all of the Sharingan's weaknesses and strengths from you before taking Sasuke's body. Additionally, he wants to learn to copy Kekkei Genkai, and pass them on to others, allowing him to raise an army. Of all Kekkei Genkai, in theory, Dojutsus would be the hardest to transfer, yet the most rewarding."

"So, what, he's going to dissect my eyes?" Ryuu asked.

"Not yet," Kabuto said. "He'll likely resort to that if he continually fails to figure out how to do it before hand, but for now, you're safe. Well, maybe not safe, but you won't go blind. The tests will start out basic, studying use in real combat scenarios, tissue samples, nerve ending samples, blood tests."

"Combat scenarios?" Ryuu asked. "Tissue samples? Nerve endings? Please tell me you don't mean my eyes."

"For the combat, you'll be pitted against one or more of Orochimaru's other, and less valuable prisoners, likely starting with those that he has lost interest in," Kabuto explained. "During those fights, you'll be instructed to use your Sharingan. For the sake of them not removing your eyes altogether, I suggest you do as instructed. That will include killing, probably. As for the tissue and nerve endings, that's from the various pieces making up your eyeball, and the nerve ending is from the optic nerve behind your eye. It will hurt, but I'll make it quick and heal the damage afterward. I'll also give you local anesthetics to help with the pain."

Ryuu nodded, noticing his neck was stiff, but Kabuto healed that quickly, followed by his black eye. Finally he was finished healing Ryuu and Ryuu sat up, sighing. He was going to hate his life.

"Am I allowed to break out?" Ryuu asked.

"No," Kabuto said. "Trust me, if you try to escape, you'll pay for it. Orochimaru will either catch you himself and take your eyes, or he'll go after Fu. And he'll reach her long before you can."

Ryuu nodded, standing and looking around. The room was empty, having no decorations beyond the medical table he had just been lying on and a few candles. Kabuto led him through the base away from the room, Ryuu noticing that the closest thing anywhere in the base were the strange designs on the walls, ceiling, and floor, giving everything a scaled appearance. Finally, they reached an arena, a wrought iron door with a barred window near the top against one wall. Kabuto opened it and Ryuu stepped inside, looking around. Prisoners, male and female, young and old, sick and healthy, strong and weak, filled the room. Kabuto closed the door behind him and Ryuu sat against the wall. Within seconds, two prisoners, a boy a little younger than him, and a girl a bit older than him walked over, standing in front of him. The girl, like everyone else, to include Ryuu, was wearing faded rags for clothing, but had seemingly ripped her pants into short shorts and the shirt into a tube top that barely covered her breasts. Ryuu looked up at them and the boy smiled.

"I'm Max," the boy said. "This is Lena. What's your name?"

"Ryuu," Ryuu said. "How long have you been here?"

"Years," Lena said. "Since you're in this room, I assume you have a Kekkei Genkai." She set her hand on the ground, then lifted it, a skeletal rat bursting out of the ground. "Mine can bring corpses back to life, and no matter what condition they're in, or what damage is done to them short of completely obliterating them, they continue to follow my commands. Even if you were to dismember the bodies, I could still control the pieces." She pulled off one of the skeleton's legs and set it aside, Ryuu watching it inch its way back to the rat, the rat rolling over it and reattaching it. "Skeletons work the best, because I can reassemble them. Of course, they want to find the skeleton of the bone-wielder that fought the Hidden Leaf so long ago. Imagine what I could do with his."

"Break us out of here," Ryuu said.

Lena and Max both laughed.

"A lot have tried," Max said. "Every single one of them died."

"How far did they get?" Ryuu asked.

"The furthest was about three hundred feet," Max said. "Then the Warden arrived and killed him in a single blow."

"Who's the Warden?" Ryuu asked.

"It varies, depending on how soon they make Orochimaru mad, or if Orochimaru decides to send them elsewhere, or just decides to kill him," Lena said. "But you'll see them during your fights. They oversee the battles."

Ryuu nodded. He didn't want to stay. He wanted to break out. But for better or for worse, he had no choice but to remain there.

* * *

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	71. Chapter 71

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Prisoner

Ryuu flipped over the prisoner's kunai, slamming a kick into him, launching him away. As he watched the prisoner stand, blood began to form on the prisoner's hands, forming a set of claws on one hand and a spiked flail in the other. When Kabuto had said he'd be fighting other Kekkei Genkai wielders, he hadn't known what to expect. This definitely wasn't it, though.

The prisoner charged, sashing at Ryuu rapidly, Ryuu barely avoiding the strikes. Finally, he ducked under the flail, catching the knee the prisoner threw before punching the prisoner in the gut and sending him flying backward using repulsion seals. He let the seals fade, grabbing the prisoner's fallen kunai, holding it in reverse grip. The prisoner swung his right arm in a wide, slow circle, a blood katana forming.

"I don't want to fight you to the death," Ryuu said.

"Then hold still and let me kill you!" the prisoner snarled, charging at Ryuu, pulling the sword back.

Ryuu sighed, streaking forward, Sharingan flicking from spot to spot as he analyzed the prisoner's form. The prisoner slashed and Ryuu ducked past it, spinning and slashing the backs of the prisoner's knees. As soon as his knees hit the ground, Ryuu stepped in front of him, slashing the insides of his elbows too. The prisoner screamed, falling onto his back, Ryuu stepping up over him. The prisoner stared up at him in terror as Ryuu streamed chakra along his kunai.

"Kill him," the Warden ordered.

Ryuu threw the kunai, sticking it into the ground beside the prisoner's head. "I don't kill. And certainly not for your entertainment."

A door off tot he side opened and Kabuto walked in, walking over to the pair before kneeling. He picked up the kunai Ryuu had thrown and immediately slit the prisoner's throat. Ryuu closed his eyes, turning away as the prisoner choked on his own blood.

"My my, Ryuu," Kabuto sighed. "You really are terrible at following instructions. All you had to do was kill him. Now, I can't use any anesthetics during your operation this afternoon. I'll let you in on a little tip. That prisoner you just fought? He was a criminal before being here. He personally raped and murdered a dozen women. You'd have been perfectly justified in killing him."

"Killing is wrong no matter who it is," Ryuu said.

"Let me say this, then," Kabuto said. "This time, it's no pain killers. Next time, the price will be a full eye. After that, they'll just kill you. If you don't start killing, starting now, you won't see Fu ever again."

Ryuu fell silent and Kabuto turned, motioning for Ryuu to follow. Ryuu walked out of the arena after Kabuto, following him to an operation room. It wasn't the first experiment. He had already had outer, core, and optic nerve tissue removed. As Kabuto strapped him down, he explained that he had been ordered to extract more of all three, and in larger quantities this time. Ryuu nodded his understanding and Kabuto began. The pain was beyond anything Ryuu had ever experienced. He screamed, his body trying to thrash, but seals on the straps held him immobile, even to muscle spasms. After a while, his throat began to bleed, his screams continuing to ring out despite it. Finally, Kabuto healed the damage and set the samples aside. Then, he began on the other eye. Ryuu's voice finally failed after the first few seconds, and as it dragged on, Ryuu felt his sanity starting to slip. He wasn't entirely sure who he was anymore. His entire existence, more and more, was becoming the agony of his eyes being pulled apart.

Finally, the pain began to subside, his vision remaining black for several minutes after the pain had faded to an agonizing throb, where it stayed. Then, finally, as his vision returned, he realized he had been moved. He was back in the holding cell with the others.

"You okay?" Lena asked. "You've been unconscious for hours."

Ryuu nodded, forcing himself up slowly. His head felt like it was splitting open. Pain lanced through his head and he fell to his hands and knees, gasping for breath. Lena knelt, resting a hand on his shoulder, not knowing what else to do besides being there for him. Finally, the pain began to fade and Ryuu stood slowly, Max helping him.

"Never let anyone fuck with you without pain killers," Ryuu growled.

"They've fucked everything except my eyes," Lena said.

"You mean fucked _with_ , right?" Ryuu asked, already knowing the answer.

"That too," Lena said.

Ryuu swallowed hard. There were so very many things he wanted to say to Kabuto. After meeting Tayuya, he shouldn't be surprised, but still. Just then, the door opened, Kabuto stepping into the room.

"Ryuu," Kabuto said. "It would seem I need your help."

Ryuu stared at him for a moment and Kabuto sighed.

"I can't keep one of my patients alive without a second medic," Kabuto said..

"I'm not a good medic," Ryuu said.

"You're enough for this," Kabuto said. "I'll even train you as a medical ninja."

Ryuu remained silent for a moment before nodding, following Kabuto out of the room. After a few minutes, Ryuu stopped, catching Kabuto's arm in a painfully tight grip, Kabuto wincing.

"Was it you?" Ryuu snarled.

"You'll have to be a little more specific," Kabuto said.

"Was it you who raped Lena?" Ryuu asked, keeping his voice low.

Kabuto sighed, turning to Ryuu fully.

"No," Kabuto said. "I never raped her. I _did_ conduct experiments on her, but it is the Warden and his two bodyguards that do that. And just so you know, she's not the only one."

Ryuu nodded, releasing Kabuto and they continued. A few minutes later, they reached a room where a boy Ryuu's age with snow-white hair, violet eyes, and pointed teeth was strapped to a table. Standing over him was a girl with messy, blood red hair, and slightly less ruined rags for clothes.

"Ryuu, meet Suigetsu and Karin," Kabuto said. "Karin will be helping us as a medic. Suigetsu will be providing skin, spinal, and stem cell samples. All the two of you have to do is keep his heart beating and heal the damage as I go."

"And you can't do this without killing him on your own?" Ryuu asked.

"This procedure is going to be incredibly painful," Kabuto said. "The human body can only handle so much pain before shutting down."

"And aphrodisiacs won't work," Karin said. "Please. He's the only friend I have. Please don't let him die."

Ryuu stared at her before sighing. Okay. What do you need me to do?"

"Just keep his heart beating," Karin said.

Ryuu nodded, setting his hands on Suigetsu's chest, left over right, and began to regulate Suigetsu's heart rate with his chakra. Karin held her hands to either side of Suigetsu's head and Kabuto went to work. He was efficient and quick, collecting whatever samples he needed and moving it away as Karin sealed the damage. Even so, the progress was slow, and Suigetsu's screams were making it hard for Ryuu to focus. Kabuto rolled Suigetsu onto his stomach, a hole in the table allowing him to keep his head forward. He began to extract spinal tissue and Suigetsu's screams grew even louder, his body thrashing against the restraints. Ryuu struggled to hold Suigetsu still while also keeping his heart rate steady. His heart rate began to spike, rapidly climbing out of control.

"Ryuu, focus!" Kabuto snapped.

Ryuu's eyes flicked to Karin, his mind seeing Fu with the same fear in her eyes, yet the same determined mask on her face. How many times had this been Ryuu? How many times had Fu brought him back from the edge? Ryuu took a breath, hardening his expression before focusing on Suigetsu's heart. He ignored the thrashing, the screams. Before he knew it, Kabuto was done and Ryuu stepped back, sighing and feeling exhausted. His arms were sore from being locked in one position for too long, as well as having to exert a constant flow of chakra for as long as they did, but it was worth it when Suigetsu sat up, groaning, and nodded to Ryuu. Ryuu nodded back before looking to Kabuto.

"Teach me," Ryuu said.

* * *

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	72. Chapter 72

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Reward

Ryuu swatted the kunai aside, watching the prisoner dance away. Their Kekkei Genkai was probably the most annoyingly entertaining one he had seen in his month there. She amplified her chakra the more she danced, allowing her to move faster, hit harder, and take stronger hits, on the rare occasions that he could actually _land_ a hit, without nearly as much damage as she should have. And she also wasn't alone. Besides the girl with the ungodly entertaining Kekkei Genkai, there was also a male one with a telekinesis Kekkei Genkai.

The male prisoner, stomped his foot, the ground breaking apart into spears before he swiped a hand, sending them flying at Ryuu. Ryuu jumped, flipping over them and catching one, twirling it as he landed before spinning and sending it hurtling through the air back at the male prisoner. The male prisoner raised a hand, the spear stopping just as the female twirled and jumped toward Ryuu, doing something of a ballet dance now. Ryuu rolled his eyes forming hand seals rapidly before inhaling.

"Fire Style, Giant Fireball Jutsu!" Ryuu shouted before exhaling the fireball at her.

She avoided it, of course, but as she was rapidly moonwalking out of the way of the fireball, the spear the male prisoner had sent back at Ryuu again drilled itself through her rear leg, causing her to scream and trip. Ryuu sprinted forward, flipping as several massive boulders flew under him, the male prisoner trying to keep him away from the female. He ignored the reasoning behind the male's actions, closing his eyes as he drove his kunai down into the female's eye. As he ripped it back out, blood sprayed out, splashing onto his face. He slowly raised his head, staring at the male, Sharingan glowing. The male staggered backward, shouting in fear. Then, Ryuu sped forward, avoiding attack after attack, the man throwing everything his imagination could form out of the ground at Ryuu. Finally, Ryuu reached him, slashing at his throat only for his hand to freeze. The man grinned until Ryuu formed a Chidori in his free hand, driving it up through the man's ribcage from below.

The man dropped and Ryuu tossed the body aside, staring at the blood coating his hand. A door off to the side opened and Ryuu obediently walked through it, walking through the hallways with a practiced ease, reaching Kabuto's experimentation room and lying down, allowing Kabuto to strap him down. One long torturous process later, Kabuto released Ryuu's restraints and Ryuu healed his own eyes, sitting up.

"I'll be by later for your lesson," Kabuto said, Ryuu nodding mutely.

Then, he left the room, again following the dark hallways with a practiced ease, reaching the room where anyone who won and actually killed their opponents was allowed to stay for the night. Compared to the holding cell, it was practically a palace. It had real beds, which had rusted springs sticking out of it and numerous stains that Ryuu didn't want or need to guess about the source of, an actual shower that was actually decent, albeit a cold communal one, and real food, as opposed to the slop they served the rest of the day in the holding cell. Ryuu, since he fought at least three times a week, had become quite familiar with the room. And hated everything about it. The room was supposed to represent a reward for doing as commanded. All Ryuu saw was a reminder that he had murdered at least one person, if not more.

As he stepped into the room, he found both Lena and Max waiting. He managed a small smile. They almost never all got to be in that room together. They weren't alone, of course. There were about eight total. Aside from Lena, there were only two other girls, however. Another reason Ryuu hated the room was the fact that apparently the communal shower made it okay for the prisoners in it to walk around naked, which everyone but Ryuu and Lena did. Even Max did.

Ryuu sighed, walking into the shower and dropping his rags by the door. He turned it on and stood under the spray, watching the blood on his entire left forearm and hand slowly wash off. Once it was gone, he cleaned himself, and used Fire Style Chakra to dry his skin before using the shower to wash his clothes. Then, he got dressed and walked out into the room, ignoring two of the prisoners, an adult male and woman, having sex on one of the beds. It was very far from the first time. Countless times had been in the holding cell, which was horrible because it meant the "couple" was doing it literally on top of others, and once had even ben a man and woman that had been chosen to fight. The man had then been killed by the woman.

Ryuu sat on the floor against the wall and stared at the wall ahead of him. After a moment, Lena knelt beside him, taking his hand.

"It's not your fault," Lena said. "We've been over this. If you didn't do it, you couldn't see Fu again."

"That doesn't make it okay," Ryuu said, taking his hand back. "You're right. We've been over this. Nothing makes taking a life okay. Even doing it because I want to see Fu again."

Lena sighed and nodded as the door opened and Kabuto walked in. Ryuu stood, walking over and Kabuto handed him a scroll. Then, Kabuto left. Ryuu sat down, rolling it open and reading through the information. It was about healing bones, and specific methods of increasing chakra control so that he'd be able to heal injuries faster, as well as other ways to make Medical Ninjutsu more effective. Ryuu sighed, beginning to practice speeding his Medical Ninjutsu up by using his teeth to cut his palm open, then sealing it. Once he had gotten tired of that, he set his hand down, stepping on it before gritting his teeth and yanking, shouting in pain as he snapped his wrist. He gingerly set it on his lap and began to heal it, struggling to get the hang of it, since he only had one hand to use. Finally, he finished, rolling his wrist and testing his hand, finding it completely fixed.

"I understand your reasoning, but was it really necessary to do that?" Lena asked. "And can you really trust him?"

"So long as I follow the rules and help him keep prisoners alive when he needs me, he'll teach me Medical Ninjutsu," Ryuu said before laughing humorlessly. "What a joke. Being taught to keep people alive as a reward for killing. And keeping prisoners alive through experiments just so that they can die in the arena later."

Lena sighed. "Someday, I'm going to find a corpse strong enough to get us out of here."

Ryuu nodded. "I hope so. I hate this place."

Lena nodded and Ryuu lay down on his side, curling into the fetal position and falling asleep. The next morning, they were all gathered up and returned to the holding cell to await their next fight.

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	73. Chapter 73

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Passage

Ryuu watched the door in silence, various gashes opening over his body from his use of the Chakra Scalpel technique, except from the chakra inside that part of the body. Then, those same gashes healed themselves as he used his Medical Ninjutsu to repair the damage. He had been there nearly a half year, now. In that time, he had helped with countless more experiments, been to the reward room too many times to count, and had saved Suigetsu's life, along with Kabuto and Karin, when one of the experiments on Suigetsu had made his Kekkei Genkai go haywire, nearly making him permanently turn into a puddle on the floor. He and Karin had managed to keep him together long enough for Kabuto to stabilize Suigetsu's chakra, but now his Kekkei Genkai, the ability to turn his body into water to avoid damage, was a permanent trait, rather than optional. As a side effect, he would also die of dehydration inside of a day unless he was able to either find a body of water to draw from or had a water bottle with him. To keep him alive, he was placed in a giant tank of water as his own personal cell.

The door opened and Ryuu stood, walking out of it and into the arena, finding a very large shinobi with messy, jet black hair standing before him, a sharp fin growing out of each forearm and a wicked grin set into his face. Ryuu formed a blade of compressed Wind Style chakra from his hand, a barely-visible green-tinted cyclone around the blade as Ryuu held onto it at the base. As he stepped forward, the man appeared in front of him, fin tearing through his abdomen before almost instantly tearing through his back as well. Ryuu activated his Sharingan, barely seeing a blur speeding away from him, moving along the arena's wall. Ryuu grunted, both wounds already sealed, and activated his Body Flicker Technique, the prisoner seeming to slow to a crawl, Ryuu running over to get beside him and easing up on the jutsu until he was running at the same speed as the man. The man's eyes widened in shock and he began to spin, slashing at Ryuu rapidly, Ryuu blocking and countering with his Wind Rapier, as he had decided to call it. He actually wielded it closer to a jian, but Wind Rapier sounded better to him.

The man flipped, kicking at Ryuu, only for Ryuu to duck under it, standing and stabbing at the man, only for the man's fins to block it, the man landing on the wall. "Second Gear!"

The man sped off again, Ryuu once again matching his speed. Again and again they clashed before the man took it up another gear. Again, Ryuu matched him. Finally, the man flipped, firing several Water Bullets out of his mouth at Ryuu, who avoided them, albeit barely, as the man switched to his "Top Gear" and vanished. He appeared behind Ryuu and Ryuu felt the fin bite into his left shoulder before appearing behind the man, driving his sword through the man's heart. The man blinked, staring at the blade sticking out of his chest before Ryuu ripped it out, allowing the man to collapse.

"But...how?" the man asked. "No one...should be...that fast!"

"You looked like you were moving slowly to me," Ryuu said, turning away and exposing his completely healed shoulder.

"What...are you?" the man asked, dying before he could receive his answer.

"I'm a monster," Ryuu said.

The door opened and Ryuu walked out, looking around. Then, he began to walk, Sharingan remaining active and adding to the map in his head. Right. Left. Right. Left. Straight. Right. Right. Right. Left. Right. Left. Left. Left. Straight. Staircase. Right. Right. Left. Backtrack. Right. Backtrack. Straight. Finally, he decided he had taken long enough and activated his Body Flicker Technique, reaching Kabuto's experimentation room just as Kabuto was about to step out of it to look for him. Kabuto stared at him a moment before turning and walking back into the room. After the experiment was done, Kabuto handed Ryuu another scroll for him to study and Ryuu headed to the reward room.

* * *

Ryuu raised a hand, a small glowing blue sphere forming beside it just in time for his opponent's massive blade to hit it. Then, the sphere flashed and the sword exploded. The opponent, a massive wall of muscle who had just arrived from places unknown and who Ryuu, frankly, didn't care about, staggered backward. A full year. Ryuu had been in that hellhole a full year. Every night he prayed to be taken from that place. Every night his prayers went unanswered. Every night he prayed for forgiveness for his sins, and every day he repeated those sins.

The man lunged at Ryuu, deciding that he could kill him barehanded, only for Ryuu to catch his hand, snapping his thumb backward before forming a Wind Rapier and splitting him in half the long way. Blood began to rain down after spraying out of the man's halves, coating Ryuu as the door opened yet again, a small boy, barely ten years old, walking in and staring at Ryuu emptily. Just as emptily as Ryuu stared back.

The boy extended a hand, a massive spectral creature with dark blue skin, four glowing red eyes, bright orange flames for eyebrows, pointed teeth, and four muscular arms appeared between the two and roared. Ryuu cocked his head to the side as the creature charged, a flaming sword appearing in each hand. It slashed with all four and Ryuu appeared off to the side, watching the blades impact the ground, the ground exploding instantly. Ryuu nodded slowly.

"Impressive ability," Ryuu said, then appeared behind the boy. "Unfortunately, it's not enough."

The boy's eyes widened before his head rolled forward from his shoulders. Then, the body exploded, and Ryuu appeared on the ceiling, dusting himself off, staring up at the floor where the boy had reappeared in the center.

"I see," Ryuu nodded. "Your imagination is made reality. Fine then. We'll try this again."

He dropped to the floor, sprinting at the boy and slashing, splitting him in half, only to once again reappear somewhere else as the boy exploded. That shouldn't have been possible. He had felt his Genjutsu take effect. That boy shouldn't have been able to do anything. He had forced to imagine himself being a powerless, normal boy. Finally, it clicked. It wasn't the boy. The boy was the imagination.

Ryuu flipped into the air as four flaming swords crashed into the arena wall, exploding but not damaging it. Ryuu flipped, landing on his feet and rolling his eyes, forming hand seals.

"Wind Style, Air Bullets!" Ryuu shouted, exhaling the jutsu, the jutsu punching completely through the creature, which roared in pain, the newest recreation of the child screaming in pain.

As soon as the jutsu had ended, Ryuu jumped, forming a flame version of his Wind Rapier in his hand, noticing the distinct lack of a cyclone along this clearly cleaver-shaped blade. Once he was close enough to the creature, he flipped, splitting him vertically three times before landing, watching the creature fade. He turned back to the child, seeing the child had been split into fourths exactly the same way the creature had. Ryuu walked out of the room, following the map in his head. Within two minutes, he was staring at the light of the outside, breathing in the smell of fresh air. Then, he left, using the Body Flicker Technique to get to Kabuto. Once finished being tortured, he left to the reward room, walking to the shower and letting the blood run off of his body. As he did, he made sure to keep his eyes closed, ignoring the sound of the other showers running and the distinct lack of any male chakras in the room. One thing about being stuck there for a year, puberty had really hit its stride while he was there. The constant physical exertion managed to keep the acne away, as did Ryuu's skill at Medical Ninjutsu, but things like hormones, and the initial spontaneous and uncontrollable erections nothing could help. Same thing with the females around his age, who were also going through puberty, and had seemingly all decided that they wanted to sleep with as many other people as they could. Only Lena seemed to not care about getting laid three times a day or more.

Finally, Ryuu was clean and got dressed, curling up against the wall as always and falling asleep.

* * *

Ryuu tried to ignore it. He really did. He had been there a year and three months. He had been around most of them while they were growing up. Well, maybe not most. Lena for sure, which was probably why he was able to ignore her. But one of the newer additions, a blonde a couple years older than him, probably around Tayuya's age, who happened to be well endowed, was much harder to ignore. She knew it too, and used every opportunity to try and flirt or outright try to seduce him. That wasn't the problem, though. He wasn't interested in having sex with some random blonde that he'd probably end up killing himself inside of a week. The part he couldn't ignore, was the fact that whenever he saw her, somehow, she reminded him of Fu. He didn't know how, he didn't really even care how. It had been a year and three months to the day since he had last seen Fu. He didn't know what she looked like. The real problem with the blonde currently standing in front of him in the shower and slowly, and her best attempt at seductively, washing her breasts and inner thighs was that his brain imagined it being Fu. He couldn't help but wonder if she had developed as fully as this slut had, or if she had somehow become more like this slut in personality than he remembered when she hit puberty.

Of course, these types of thoughts always led to the ones that really troubled him. He shut the shower off, walking out into the main room and sitting against the wall, not even bothering to get dressed. He had been gone for over a year. It was completely reasonable for Fu to have moved on. She had no way of knowing if he had even survived. She had no proof, nor did she really have any reason to wait. It wasn't like he'd be able to escape ever. When Orochimaru had found out that Ryuu had mapped out the entire interior of his base, he had responded by having a lock of mint-green hair delivered to Ryuu, so fresh that he could still sense Fu's chakra from it. She wasn't hurt, he knew that much, but that meant that Orochimaru had someone close enough to get her hair without being caught.

Ryuu rested his forehead against his forearms again. Yes, it was perfectly reasonable, understandable, even that she move on. He couldn't actually expect her to wait for him with no proof that he was alive. She probably had a new boyfriend, a new team. it was entirely possible that she had even had sex with her new boyfriend.

Ryuu's arm snapped out, his fist slamming into the wall beside him, fracturing and cratering it. The others all stared at him, sitting there with his hand still partially embedded in a crater in the wall, teeth clenched, and tears streaming down his face. He had tried to ignore it. He really had. Tried so hard to ignore the possibility of having lost the one thing that he kept fighting for. But he couldn't ignore it. Not anymore. And he knew, that until he saw Fu again, until he found out definitively whether or not he had, that possibility, that fear, would haunt his every waking moment as much as the killing did.

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	74. Chapter 74

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Inevitability

Ryuu's heart shattered. Max had been bad. It had been inevitable, but nothing could have prepared him for it. He had walked into the arena, and had done the single hardest thing since he arrived. He had murdered one of his two best friends. Max's Kekkei Genkai had been a strong one. The ability to turn energy, be it kinetic force, chakra, potential energy, even pure light, into a weapon. Ryuu had actually thought he might lose that fight more than a dozen times. Max had pinned him down several dozen, and Ryuu had been so exhausted by the end that he couldn't even heal himself. Then, Max had taken to the sky, using pure electricity, rather than Lightning Style Chakra, to fly. So Ryuu had followed him, finally managing to perfect his own method of flying, one that Max himself had been helping him try to learn for the entirety of the year and a half they had been there. They had fought in the air for what felt like days, but probably was no longer than six hours. At the end, Max had broken every bone in Ryuu's arms and legs, to include his hands and feet.

Ryuu had lain there for several minutes as Max used a blade formed out of light to shred his torso. He had healed his limbs, then thrown Max off, leaving his torso as it was as he attacked Max again. But what he realized while he was fighting Max again, was that his torso had seemingly mended itself, his chakra instinctively mending the damage while Ryuu focused on the fight. Then, finally, as Ryuu was out of chakra, he used what little he had left to charge at Max and attack him with a Wind Rapier. Rather than avoiding it, Max had allowed it to cut through his own light sword. Ryuu knew he did. Because that same type of sword had been cutting through his jutsus the entire fight. But, that blow had decided their fight. Ryuu sat on his knees beside Max as Max bled out for several minutes. And Max had spoken.

"I'm so proud to have been your friend," Max had said. "Take care of Lena. And don't blame yourself. It was my choice."

And then he had died. Ryuu had been crushed. No, that wasn't right. He had been broken. He had been broken into so many pieces, that he had had to be dragged to Kabuto, hadn't even felt the surgery, and then had been dragged back to the holding cell. He hadn't even realized he was there until he had found Lena sobbing into his chest.

Lena. Ryuu couldn't do it. He couldn't. He had already killed Max. He had done it only yesterday. So as he stared across the arena at her, his only remaining friend, he knew. He couldn't do it. Come what may, be it one eye or both, be it his life, her life, or the lives of every prisoner, he couldn't bring himself to kill her. And then he understood. This had been how Max felt, staring at him from across the arena. He couldn't kill his best friend. His family. The only family he had had left after Orochimaru had forced him to kill the rest of them in the arena. So he had allowed Ryuu to kill him instead.

"Fight!" the newest warden ordered, but both merely stood there.

Ryuu couldn't do it. And looking into Lena's eyes, neither could she. He knew. He had always known, he supposed. Known, and ignored. It was why Max had been willing to leave Lena with him, even though he had been in love with Lena himself, and when he himself was stronger. It was why Ryuu would be able to kill Lena long before she could kill him. It was why Lena had always understood Ryuu's feelings when she would comfort him about missing Fu, or about being afraid of Fu moving on. Because she was watching as the man she loved fought tooth and nail to try and survive, in the slim, unreasonable hope of seeing the woman he loved, a woman that wasn't Lena, again. Because she, Lena, his dearest friend, was in love with him.

Ryuu fell to his knees, staring at the sand. He couldn't. She couldn't. They'd both be killed. No. He'd be killed. She would be raped to death. Fury flooded his veins and he stood, Sharingan glowing with his rage. It was time. he couldn't stay any longer. He wouldn't watch his last friend die. He would get her out. Come what may. Then, he would use every ounce of chakra, every last bit of his speed, to find Fu and save her from Orochimaru's spy. It didn't matter if she was no longer his. It didn't matter if he died. It didn't matter if it was the last time he'd ever see her. He would not allow his last friend, or the love of his life to be harmed.

"Lena," Ryuu snarled. "You needed a powerful corpse, right?"

Lena stared at him before staring at the floor of the arena. any corpses they left on the arena floor were swallowed up by the arena floor. They were trapped beneath it. _He_ was trapped beneath it. She knelt, slamming her palms into the ground, a ripple of chakra shooting out from them. Then, the ground exploded as Max rose up from below it, landing lightly on his feet, expression blank, wound exposed to the world. Then, Max raised a hand, a blast of condensed light shooting out of his palm into the Warden's window. The Warden was new today. He didn't know of Max's abilities. But when the smoke cleared to reveal the bloody remains of the shinobi in that room splattered over the walls, it revealed the warden, completely unscathed. He dropped to the ground, lunging forward and drilling a punch into Max's gut, sending him blasting into the wall. As soon as Max hit, he was moving again, attacking the Warden with all the ferocity with which he had attacked Ryuu. For a moment, Ryuu could have believed he was alive again. Then, he and Lena were sprinting away from the arena, Ryuu having taken the time to free the rest of the prisoners, starting a full-scale riot. Shinobi flooded toward the arena from every hallway, Ryuu protecting Lena from them as they took the less populated routes.

He knew how to get out. He had mapped the base out five times over. However, as the riot began to be quelled by the overwhelming number of shinobi, that overwhelming number began to find them again, blocking every route to the exit. Still they forged on, Ryuu cutting, hacking, burning, crushing, electrocuting, and otherwise slaughtering anything that dared try to do harm to his friend. Then, finally, as they reached a massive open chamber where the exit was the only other way to go, a laugh echoed through the room. Orochimaru.

"My my, Ryuu, you truly are an impressive one," Orochimaru said, voice coming from everywhere. "I think you actually killed more of my troops than the entire riot did. However, I'm afraid you can't leave. I can't afford to lose your abilities. It's a shame what I'll have to do to your friend, but don't worry. I promise I'll allow Fu to live. For now, at least."

Ryuu spun to Lena, who smiled sadly. Ryuu began to back away, tears running down his face.

"I'm sorry Ryuu," Lena said. "I guess we failed."

Then, she fell to her knees, snakes bursting out of her mouth as she tipped over backward. Ryuu screamed in rage and pain, slamming his hands into the ground and sending flames exploding outward from them, incinerating the snakes and numerous of the shinobi that had surrounded him and Lena. He lifted her into his lap, staring at her. She was gone. Several of the snakes had burst out through her throat since her mouth was blocked, and one had come from each eye. Shinobi charged at him, but Ryuu remained motionless. he didn't fight back. He couldn't. All the fight he had was taken away with his only remaining friend.

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	75. Chapter 75

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Freedom

Ryuu opened his eyes, staring up at the ceiling. He was strapped down. One across his forehead, one over his mouth, six per arm and leg, three per finger to keep them straight and separate, and four down his torso. They didn't want him going anywhere. And he couldn't. At least, without help. One of the scientists, which he could sense seven of, stepped up over him, waving a scalpel back and forth to air dry it.

"You did a lot of damage in your little escape attempt," the scientist said. "Lord Orochimaru is very displeased. He really had so much hope for your eyes. Sadly, if you can't do as you're told, he's decided that your eyes must be...appropriated. And don't worry, I'm not going to use any anesthetics as I rip them from your head. But I _will_ kill you after, if you beg. You see, my brother was one of the shinobi you let burn to death on your way out with that bitch. So I'm going to enjoy this. Now, show me those Sharingan."

 _Happily_ , Ryuu thought, activating them and instantly placing him under a Genjutsu.

The scientist stood there for a moment before slashing, cutting Ryuu's head and right arm both free instantly. Just as he did, a smoke bomb went off in the center of the room. Ryuu instantly had the doctor cut him the rest of the way free before snapping the doctor's neck. Then, he flipped to his feet, preparing himself for a fight, only for the smoke to clear, leaving all of the doctors dead, as well as two guards outside, one of which had fallen in the doorway. Standing in the center of the room was an ANBU with a cat mask bearing a red triangle pointed downward on the forehead and a curved red line on each cheek.

"Who-"

The ANBU raised a finger to their lips and Ryuu nodded, sensing their chakra and grinning. Kabuto. Kabuto motioned for him to follow and they began to run through the base. For a moment, Ryuu thought that Kabuto was lost trying to get to the exit, until they stepped into a room with numerous water tanks and Kabuto pulled a sleeve-less purple shirt, white pants, a pair of sandals, and a water bottle from his cloak. Ryuu smirked, forming his Wind Rapier and slashing the water tank that he placed as Suigetsu's. Kabuto tossed the clothes into the rapidly growing puddle, and a moment later, Suigetsu rose from it, nodding once as Kabuto held a finger to his mask's mouth again. The three of them made their way to the exit then took off at a sprint, putting as much distance between themselves and the base as they could. Finally, Kabuto threw off the ANBU disguise and Ryuu hugged him.

"Thank you!" Ryuu smiled, holding back tears of joy at finally being out.

"Don't thank me yet," Kabuto said. "Not until we're all home."

"What about Fu?" Ryuu asked.

"I made a quick trip to the Hidden Leaf and dealt with him in person, as well as the other two Orochimaru had there as backup plans," Kabuto said. "For the time being, she's safe."

"Kabuto, do you know where Karin is?" Suigetsu asked.

Ryuu glanced at him, thinking. Karin had disappeared about a week after they had saved Suigetsu. Ryuu had assumed she had been killed in the arena.

"She was transferred," Kabuto said. "She was made the Warden of the Southern Hideout."

"Okay," Suigetsu nodded. "Would it be possible for us to stop by there?"

"How far off course would that take us?" Ryuu asked.

"The Southern Hideout would cost us an extra hour, not including time spent on the island. It's a small island beside the Land of Waves."

"What a coincidence," Suigetsu said. "There's something in the Land of Waves that I wanted to pick up."

"What's that?" Ryuu asked.

"Master Zabuza's sword," Suigetsu said.

"Kabuto?" Ryuu asked.

"Well, from the Southern Hideout, the Land of Waves would actually be pretty close to a direct line back to Konoha," Kabuto said thoughtfully. "Maybe twenty minutes extra."

Ryuu nodded. "Lead the way."

Kabuto nodded as well, turning slightly and they all continued on in silence.

* * *

They spotted the tiny stone island quickly. There were three massive, almost flat rock formations sticking up off of it like a fin, but the entire island was maybe five hundred feet across. Ryuu supposed that this hideout, like the one he had lived in for a year and a half, was probably underground.

"Can we destroy this one?" Ryuu asked.

"I suppose so," Kabuto nodded.

Kabuto led them to a large metal door. He raised his hand to knock, but Ryuu slashed the door into pieces with his Wind Rapier. Kabuto stared at him.

"I've waited for a year and a half," Ryuu said, neglecting to mention his fear of having taken to long. "I'm done waiting."

"I know you've waited," Kabuto said. "I was trying my best to watch over you. I had to watch as you fell more and more into despair and darkness. Don't worry. You don't have to kill anyone else. Suigetsu and I will handle it from here on."

Ryuu nodded in silence and they all walked inside. They walked down a long, sloped hallway, passing several holding cells, though, thankfully no arena, before stopping as Karin stepped out of the shadows ahead of them.

"Karin!" Suigetsu smiled. "We've come to rescue you."

Karin was now dressed in a pair of jean short shorts, black leggings, high-heeled black sandals, and the purple shirt that all of Orochimaru's Wardens were supposed to wear, though, hers was unzipped from the bottom to above her navel.

"Suigetsu?" Karin asked before smiling. "So it was you. I'm glad you're alive. What are you doing here Kabuto?"

"I'm breaking cover and finally returning to my home," Kabuto said. "And I'm helping the people I care about."

Karin stared at him before sighing. "I'm the Warden. If I leave, these people will all die."

"Well, I'm going to completely destroy this base," Ryuu said. "So either we let them go and you come with us, or you come with us unwillingly, and we pretend not to hear them dying."

Karin stared at him. "What...what happened to you? Your chakra...your chakra used to be so light, so pure. Now..."

"A year and a half," Ryuu said. "That's what happened to me."

Karin nodded slowly before sighing. "Alright. We'll evacuate before we take it down."

Ryuu nodded and Karin walked over to the wall, opening a concealed panel, exposing a microphone.

"Attention," Karin said. "As of today, everyone inside of this base has gone rogue from Orochimaru. This includes the guards. Orochimaru is on his way here to kill us all, so I suggest you make yourself disappear, immediately."

Within seconds, there was a stampede of Shinobi flooding out of the base, not even taking the time to question her. Then, Karin opened the holding cells and the prisoners all took off as well. Once they walked to the door, Ryuu turned back to the base.

"You're sure there's no one left?" Ryuu asked, looking to her, remembering that her sensing ability was far superior to his.

She closed her eyes for a moment before nodding. Ryuu knelt, forming several hand seals before placing his hands down, Sharingan glowing.

"Fire Style, Purgatory Reclamation!" Ryuu said, flames exploding outward from his hands, winding and twisting their way through the hallway, setting literally everything before Ryuu ablaze.

Ryuu stood and they all ran away from the island, getting as far away as they could. Then, as they just barely reached minimum safe distance, the flames exploded out of the door, igniting the rest of the island, which began to melt instantly. The ground below the water on the far side suddenly dropped and water flooded in to fill the newly opened space, only for steam to rush back out.

"That'll burn for about three hours," Ryuu said. "Come on. Let's get Suigetsu's sword and go home."

Kabuto nodded and they continued to run, heading for the Land of Waves.

* * *

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	76. Chapter 76

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Home Again

Ryuu drummed his fingers on the table, watching as Suigetsu ate his fifteenth yogurt. He understood Suigetsu hadn't eaten literally anything in almost a year, but he also didn't feel the need to spend two hours sitting in a diner so that Suigetsu could eat nothing but yogurt. He also wasn't sure exactly how it had taken two hours.

"Would you stop drumming please?" Karin finally asked.

"That depends," Ryuu said. "Is Suigetsu ready to stop waisting my time?"

"What's the rush?" Suigetsu asked, raising another spoonful to his mouth.

"If I don't get back to Konoha soon, Orochimaru is going to kill the love of my life," Ryuu snarled.

Suigetsu froze, staring at Ryuu before setting his spoon down and pulling out some money he had won from a local in a bet. "Okay, we can go now."

Ryuu sighed, standing and hurrying out the door, the others following. They all headed to the bridge that connected the island nation to the mainland, and found a pair of graves beside it, a massive, rusted, moss-covered sword stabbed into the ground beside it. Suigetsu ripped the sword out of the ground and grinned.

"Got it," Suigetsu smiled, pulling the moss off. "That's just disrespectful. Oh well. I'll clean it later. We got places to be and chicks to save, right?"

"Yeah," Ryuu growled. "Let's go. Try to keep up."

Ryuu took off at a run, the others following after him, Ryuu managing to hold his speed down to a level they could keep up with. They blew past travelers, villages, even a bandit ambush, which Suigetsu quickly took out with his new sword, which Ryuu noticed was distinctly free of rust after the fight, and continued on toward Konoha. The sun set, rose, then set again. Then, finally, as it was beginning to rise again, Ryuu slowed to a stop, falling onto his knees in front of the gate. The Chunin beside the gate, Kotetsu Ryuu thought he had been named, stared at him in confusion for several long seconds. He had good reason to. Over the last year and a half, Ryuu had been malnourished, hadn't had a single haircut, and hadn't slept well once. He had dark circles under his eyes that probably rivaled Gaara's, his hair reached to his waist, and he was thin. Not to mention, he was wearing rags still.

"Can I help you?" Kotetsu asked.

"Myself and my friend are both from here, and have come home after a very long time away," Kabuto said. "These two would like to move here."

"I see," Kotetsu said, still watching Ryuu, who was silent but had tears running down his cheeks. "Uh, yeah. I've got some paperwork for you all to fill out."

"Oh you don't need to signal any ANBU or jonin," Kabuto smiled, knowing that the thing Kotetsu was reaching for first was a sealing tag that would attract a lot of attention. "They'll be here momentarily anyway."

Kotetsu stared at him, and sure enough, less than thirty seconds later, Fu, Tayuya, Yugao, Sakura, Shikamaru, and Kakashi all landed in front of the gate, staring. Ryuu looked up, staring at Fu, who had tears of her own running down her face instantly.

"Ryuu!" Fu cried, sprinting forward.

"Fu," Ryuu breathed, standing in time for Fu to tackle him again anyway.

He managed to sit up, tucking his face into her hair as he sobbed, Fu sobbing into his chest, sounding more heartbroken than happy. Ryuu forced his fears away, focusing on his joy at being home, and at being able to hold Fu again. A moment later, Yugao was beside him, also crying as she wrapped her arms around Ryuu. Ryuu sensed others showing up. Hinata, Neji, Choji, Kiba and Akamaru, Sai, Shin. All of Ryuu's old friends had arrived within minutes, all staring at him in disbelief. Finally, Sado raised his head, drying his eyes and forcing a smile. The others all began to cheer and shout, running forward and all trying to welcome him home at the same time. Finally, Kakashi stepped forward, clearing his throat. The others all stepped back, except for Fu, who remained where she was, still sobbing into his chest.

"Ryuu, Kabuto," Kakashi said. "I think you should go and see Tsunade. She'll want to know what happened."

Ryuu nodded, standing with Fu only to feel his strength leave him. His legs buckled and he fell back to his knees, eyes fluttering. Sakura rushed over, beginning to scan him with her Medical Ninjutsu. Finally, she sighed.

"You've been running on empty for days, haven't you?" Sakura asked.

Ryuu's mind flashed to his fight with Max, but he forced those memories out of his mind before he could start sobbing again. He nodded.

"Fu, can you carry him to Tsunade?" Sakura asked.

Fu managed to finally get herself under control, nodding and wiping her eyes, picking him up and extending her wings, flying to the Hokage's office in silence. Finally, they reached the office and Fu knocked with her foot. After a moment, the door opened, Koharu Utatane staring at her, then at Fu. Tsunade leaned tot he side, looking around Koharu and staring at Ryuu. He looked over at her, activating his Sharingan and Tsunade gasped harshly

"Get out!" Tsunade snapped, both Village Elders staring at her. "Get out now!"

They left and Fu walked in with Ryuu, Kabuto stepping in just after her and closing the door, locking it and ignoring Koharu and Homura's shouting.

"Shut up!" Tsunade yelled. "I'll deal with it myself!"

They went silent and Tsunade stood, rushing over to Ryuu and taking him from Fu, laying him on her desk and beginning to scan him herself. After several moments, she began to transfer him a bit of chakra, Ryuu feeling his strength returning. Finally, she stepped back and he sat up, nodding.

"Thank you," Ryuu said.

"What happened?" Tsunade demanded. "Everything. I need to know everything."

Ryuu remained silent for a long time before standing and walking to the door, placing a silencing seal on it. Tsunade turned, closing the blinds and Ryuu sat down in one of the chairs, resting his face in his hands and letting the memories all flood his mind at once.

"I was fighting Mhao, again," Ryuu said. "And Zetsu, a member of the Akatsuki that has two personalities, White and Black Zetsu, the two halves of his body, was there too. He wielded Wood Style Ninjutsu, and he was able to place clones inside of me as spores, that then grew by absorbing my chakra."

"Okay," Tsunade nodded. "After you were captured, what happened."

"I..." Ryuu trailed off, tears running down his cheeks, though he was able to keep from sobbing. "I was taken to a hideout where there was an arena. I was forced to fight other Kekkei Genkai wielders so that they could study my Sharingan's abilities. After every fight, Kabuto took tissue samples from my eyes to study. Every time I killed the opponents, I was allowed to stay in a room with beds, a shower, and actual food. But, if I hadn't killed them, they'd have taken my eyes and killed me."

"How many?" Tsunade asked.

Ryuu shook his head. "Then...I killed them."

"Who?" Tsunade asked.

"Max and Lena," Ryuu said, voice breaking. "My friends. I killed them both."

"No," Kabuto said. "Orochimaru killed Lena. He knew she was important to you so he placed a remote activation seal to cause her death."

"It was my fault," Ryuu said. "I was supposed to protect her. That was why Max let me win. I was supposed to protect Lena. But I failed."

Fu wrapped her arms around him as he began to sob, Ryuu tucking his face into her shoulder. Tsunade sighed, pouring herself a cup of sake and drinking it.

"After that, since Ryuu had tried to break out, and almost succeeded, Orochimaru ordered his eyes removed," Kabuto said. "So I broke him out. On the way, we rescued Suigetsu Hozuki. Then, we stopped by a separate hideout and picked up Karin Uzumaki before destroying the hideout, picked up Zabuza Momochi's sword for Suigetsu, and returned here."

Tsunade nodded. "And you're sure neither is loyal to Orochimaru?"

"Positive," Kabuto nodded.

"Okay," Tsunade nodded. "My turn. Firstly, Naruto Uzumaki is away on a training trip with Jiraiya. Secondly, the Akatsuki haven't been seen except for small sightings since you were taken, though, I have a feeling they'll begin to make their move soon. Next, when you were taken, Mhao's body was recovered by Kakashi and Fu."

Ryuu looked up at her, wiping his eyes. "It what?"

"We studied it extensively, and we discovered that it's a creation of Orochimaru's," Tsunade said.

"That's right," Kabuto nodded. "I was going to tell you later, after you'd had time to settle and get things settled. Mhao is a Homunculus. An artificial being created by Orochimaru's experiments. Except, Orochimaru stopped those experiments nearly five years ago now. Orochimaru's best guess is that Mhao was created by a surviving creation from the original experiment, or maybe each time Mhao is created, he recreates himself before he leaves, improving and perfecting on his own design."

"Then we need to stop that," Tsunade said. "Do you know where these experiments were conducted?"

"I do," Kabuto nodded. "There were two locations. One, was beneath the Hidden Leaf Village itself, in the facilities currently used by Danzo's Foundation."

"Why am I not surprised?" Tsunade growled. "And the other?"

"A hideout to the North West of here, near the Hidden Grass Village," Kabuto said. "For obvious reasons, I believe you should check Danzo's hideout first."

Tsunade nodded. "What else can you tell us?"

"Not much," Kabuto said. "As I said, the experiments were stopped roughly five years ago."

Tsunade nodded. "I'll inform the village of the true nature of your work for Orochimaru. You'll be reinstated as a Chunin, or as an ANBU, if you would prefer."

"I'll take the ANBU route," Kabuto said. "And if you would allow it, I'd like to take Team Rho to investigate Danzo's hideout. I'm familiar with the layout, and I know roughly where the experiments were."

"As you wish," Tsunade nodded. "Ryuu, as of right now, you're being placed on medical suspension until you've recovered fully. Your status as a Shinobi will be reinstated once you're better."

Ryuu nodded and stood, Fu keeping her arms around him to help him support his weight as much as for the sake of holding him. He and Fu left the room, Kabuto and Tsunade moving to the roof. Tsunade summoned every shinobi in the village, minutes Ryuu and Fu, and explained everything about Kabuto. The fact that he had been in deep cover for Orochimaru, the fact that he had swapped sides and become their own deep cover agent, and the fact that he had helped destroy two of Orochimaru's hideouts and rescued Ryuu Uchiha, returning to the village to rejoin it. The news was met with largely disbelieving responses, but Tsunade told them that it wasn't up to them. So, Kabuto was placed in Team Rho of the ANBU Black Ops and sent to Danzo's hideout, leading the team to where Orochimaru had once worked.

* * *

Ryuu opened the door to his house, walking in and up the stairs to his bedroom, finding everything exactly the way he had left it. Fu set him on the bed, then rushed out of the room, coming back a moment later with his tanto, trench knife, and necklace.

"You...you kept them?" Ryuu breathed.

"Of course," Fu smiled. "They belong to you. Why would I ever do anything else?"

Ryuu felt his heart break a little as his fears returned. It was stupid. He knew Fu. He knew she had waited. But still, the fear remained.

"I...I waited for you," Fu said, struggling not to cry. "I waited for you for so long. There was a funeral, and everyone tried to tell me you were gone, but I knew you were alive! I knew you would come home someday!"

He wrapped his arms around her. "You really waited all this time for me? You didn't even know if I was alive."

"I did, though," Fu smiled. "I could feel it."

"She's telling the truth," Yugao said from the doorway. "When we held the funeral, she wouldn't go anywhere near it. Then after, she used a kunai to scratch your name out. When she was arrested for it, she just kept screaming that you weren't dead. Eventually, we had to put her under house arrest to keep her from looking for you."

Ryuu smiled, resting his chin on Fu's head and smiling, feeling as though a million pounds had lifted off of his heart. He felt foolish for ever having been afraid of her moving on. Yugao smiled and turned, closing the door and walking away. Ryuu lay back, pulling the covers over himself and Fu before almost instantly passing out.

* * *

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	77. Chapter 77

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Suspended

Ryuu opened his eyes, sighing as he felt the comfort of sleep leaving him and the pangs of hunger return. He had gotten used to that feeling, so he didn't really mind it, but it still wasn't exactly pleasant. He pushed himself up, looking around. He had slept blessedly well in comparison to the last year and a half. he actually felt rested. He stood, walking to his room's bathroom and closing the door, showering and brushing his teeth before walking back into the room and getting dressed. He stretched, trying to work the overexertion back out of his muscles, then walked out of the room, heading downstairs. He wasn't sure exactly what time it was, but he knew it was probably almost midday.

"Oh my God!" Fu gasped. "He's awake!"

A moment later, Fu was spinning him around and around in a hug before setting him down and stepping out of the way, allowing Yugao to do the same.

"What's going on?" Ryuu asked. "You guys just saw me."

"You've been asleep for a week," Tayuya said. "We were all afraid you weren't going to wake up."

"I was?" Ryuu blinked.

"Yeah," Fu nodded, slipping her hand into his and lacing their fingers. "I'm glad you're alright."

Ryuu smiled, squeezing her hand before looking around. "I'm starving. is there anything to eat?"

Yugao laughed and nodded. "I'll make you some food. But you're going to have to take it easy. After being malnourished for a year and a half, you'll get sick if you eat too much."

"We'll see," Ryuu chuckled. "I'm eating until I'm fat if it'll get rid of the hunger pains finally."

Fu smiled, shaking her head and they walked to the kitchen, Ryuu sitting down at the table while Yugao and Fu cooked. Once they were done the first round, they set it on the table and Ryuu ate it rapidly. Same with seconds, and thirds. Finally, he finished, using Medical Ninjutsu to keep himself from getting sick from overeating. Yugao shook her head, smiling.

"Your Medical Ninjutsu's come a long way," Yugao said.

"Thanks," Ryuu said, smiling for a moment before it faded. "Kabuto taught me after every fight."

And just like that, the mood came crashing down. Finally, he stood, sighing.

"I'm going to go to church," Ryuu said. "I'll be back in a while."

Yugao nodded and Ryuu left, walking through the streets in silence. After about twenty minutes, he reached the church, walking inside and finding that it was empty, aside from the pastor, a short round man with a kind smile, grey hair and a bushy grey mustache and a pair of round wire-rimmed glasses. The pastor looked up, smiling upon seeing Ryuu.

"Welcome," he greeted. "It's been some time."

"Yeah," Ryuu said, not quite able to force a smile. "I...I think I might need your help."

"With what?" the pastor asked.

"Praying," Ryuu said. "I...I don't know how to ask for forgiveness for what I've done. There's...there's so much."

The pastor was silent for a moment before nodding. "Come. Kneel before the altar, and we'll see what we can do."

Ryuu walked forward, kneeling down in front of the altar and and closing his eyes. The pastor knelt beside him, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"Now, tell me what's troubling you," the pastor said.

"I...I was held prisoner for a year and a half," Ryuu said. "While I was, every coupe days...I...I was forced to fight against other prisoners. And...I was made to kill them all. It was either that, or I would have had my eyes ripped out and then would have been killed myself."

The pastor was silent for a moment before nodding. "Do you know how many?"

"Two hundred seventy five," Ryuu said. "Including two of my friends."

The pastor stared at him before sighing and nodding, bowing his head and beginning to pray. He prayed asking God for forgiveness for Ryuu, and for Ryuu to be free of the burden of his guilt over it. He prayed for Ryuu to be able to sleep at night, and for him to be able to make peace with his actions. Finally, after a much longer prayer than Ryuu was used to, the pastor stood, helping Ryuu up.

"Thank you Father," Ryuu said, the pastor chuckling.

"I keep telling you, Ryuu," the pastor laughed. "This isn't that kind of church."

Ryuu smiled, nodding, and waked out of the church, stopping as he found Fu, Tayuya, and Yugao walking toward it. Ryuu smiled, hugging Fu, who hugged him back, then looked to Yugao.

"Lady Tsunade wants to see us all," Yugao said.

Ryuu nodded and they all headed to the Hokage's office, Yugao knocking and Shizune opening the door. Tsunade sighed, beckoning them in.

"There you all are," Tsunade sighed. "Ryuu, I'm so sorry. I know you're not fully recovered yet, but-"

"It's fine," Ryuu smiled. "I can handle it. Whatever you need, I'll be okay."

"No, it's not that," Tsunade said. "It's not a mission. It's...it's a demotion."

"What!?" Yugao demanded.

"But why!?" Fu asked.

"What the hell did he do!?" Tayuya demanded.

"Guys, it's fine," Ryuu said.

"It's out of my hands," Tsunade said. "Koharu and Homura...they both tried to argue that Orochimaru could have turned you. They used you showing up with Kabuto, and you bringing not only Kabuto, but also Tayuya, two former Hidden Sound shinobi, into our village, as well as two of Orochimaru's other prisoners, as evidence of you bringing spies into the village. I told them that it was none of their business who you saved from Orochimaru, but they didn't like that. So they, along with Danzo, unsurprisingly, all went to the Feudal Lord with the matter. The Feudal Lord didn't see a problem with it, thank God, so you haven't been stripped of your Shinobi status. But in order to get them out of his hair, he _did_ demote you back to genin."

"Okay," Ryuu nodded. "When's the next Chunin Exam?"

Tsunade smiled. "I figured you'd ask. I already submitted your paperwork for your entire team. It begins in two weeks. Will you be ready by then?"

"I'd be ready now," Ryuu smiled. "But yes. I can get back to looking the part by then."

Tsunade nodded and dismissed them. They all headed home and Ryuu back to bed.

* * *

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	78. Chapter 78

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Recovery

Ryuu yawned and stretched, beginning his morning routine. Shower, teeth, clothes, eat. Once he had done that, he walked outside, heading into the hot spring and to the changing room, quickly changing into swimming trunks and getting in the water. He sighed as the water helped with his aching muscles. He lay back against the side, smiling to himself. After a few moments, he felt a wave hit him and cracked an eye open, smiling at Fu who walked over, sitting beside him. He wrapped an arm around her and she wrapped both around him.

"How do you feel today?" Fu asked.

"Better," Ryuu said. "Kabuto's been cleared to rehab me again today. So I should be back to my old self within three days."

Fu nodded, smiling. "Good. You're not as comfy when you're just skin and bone."

Ryuu laughed, squeezing her for a moment before standing and wading out into the hot spring. Fu watched as he stopped, holding his hands on the surface of the water, then raised them, a pair of water spheres coming with them. Then, he spun, hurling them at her. She shrieked in surprise just before the water balls crashed into her face, drenching her. Then, she grinned wickedly.

"Oh, it's on!" Fu grinned, beginning to hurl Water Style Jutsus at him, Ryuu sending them right back.

This continued for several minutes before they finally called it a draw. Ryuu sighed, climbing out and changing, Fu doing the same. Once they had both changed, they left, heading into town to shop. They didn't buy anything, but they enjoyed looking around. Once they got hungry, they stopped at Ichiraku's, then went back to shopping. A little while later, they headed home, arriving as Yugao stepped out of the house. She smiled as she saw them and gave Ryuu a quick hug.

"I'm going to go train," Yugao said. "I'll be back later, okay?"

"Sure," Ryuu nodded.

Yugao left and Ryuu and Fu stepped inside, finding Tayuya passed out in the living room. Ryuu smirked, shaking his head.

"Lazy," Ryuu said.

"A nap _does_ sound pretty good right now, though," Fu said.

"That's true," Ryuu nodded. "Alright. I'm game."

They headed up stairs to their bedroom, Ryuu changing into a pair of boxers and pajama pants in the bathroom and walking out to find Fu lying in bed wearing a pair of pink pajamas. He smiled, walking over and climbing in beside her.

"Look at you, actually wearing clothes and shit," Ryuu smiled. "You sure you're the Fu I knew?"

Fu smiled, cuddling into his side and he smiled, curling around her, closing his eyes and drifting off. The nightmares began immediately. Everything from memories of the fights, to his fear of losing Fu. Eventually, it became what it used to be. Him, sitting in a void as faces swirled around him, bloodied and broken, demanding to know why he had killed them, or calling him a monster for killing so many. Finally, Fu shook Ryuu awake and he gasped, taking a moment to calm himself. He sat up, watching Fu sob for a moment before pulling her into a hug.

"I'm sorry," Ryuu said, Fu shaking her head.

"How can I help?" Fu asked, forcing herself to stop crying and pulling back, looking up at him. "What can I do?"

"You already are," Ryuu said, pulling her back into a hug gently. "Just having you here with me helps."

"I'll always be with you," Fu said, Ryuu smiling and tucking his face into her hair.

"I know," Ryuu said. "But I'm still afraid."

"What do you mean?" Fu asked, pulling back again to look at him.

"When I was there, killing people wasn't the only thing that hurt me," Ryuu said. "The thing that really got under my skin, and the thing that really made it hell, was you."

"What?" Fu asked, confused.

"You," Ryuu repeated. "I was there for a year and a half, and you had no way of knowing if I was alive. I was so terrified of losing you. You would have been justified in moving on while I was there, and I knew it. I had no justified reason to expect you to still be waiting for me when I got back. I had no reason to think that you hadn't been with anybody else. I knew you hadn't. I knew that you'd wait, because I would have, but I couldn't shake the fear."

Fu kissed him, then pulled back, tears running down her cheeks. "I would never! Ryuu, I love _you_ , not anyone else! I will never move on, and I would never be with anyone else! I am yours! I have been ever since the day we met, and I always will be!"

"I know," Ryuu smiled. "I know. And that's why I was so afraid. Because I knew that no matter what the more logical thing to do is, you will always be waiting for me, even if you see me die. But if I were wrong, it would crush me. That's why I was so afraid. I didn't doubt you. I doubted me."

Fu kissed him again. "You don't have to be afraid anymore. I'm telling you, here and now, that even if you die, I will still be waiting for you."

Ryuu smiled and nodded, kissing her. She kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck, his own wrapping around her back. They stayed like that for a while before Ryuu ran his tongue along Fu's bottom lip. Fu allowed him access instantly, her own tongue meeting his as she slid a leg over to straddle his waist. Their tongues fought for dominance for several minutes before Fu pulled back. Ryuu moved to kiss her again but she turned her head. Ryuu pulled back, thoroughly confused.

"What's wrong?" Ryuu asked.

"I won't be able to stop if we continue," Fu said, smiling sadly.

Ryuu smiled, reaching up and turning her head back toward him, capturing her bottom lip and biting down on it, suckling and running his tongue over her lip, Fu moaning instantly, hands clutching at his shoulders. After a moment, he released her lip and smiled.

"Who said anything about stopping?" Ryuu asked.

Fu stared at him for a moment before mashing her lips to his, knocking him onto his back. Ryuu smiled as their tongues dueled for several seconds. After a moment, Fu captured his lip, returning the favor for before. And as soon as she released it, he repaid her in kind. As he did, Fu moaned, shifting her hips against him, Ryuu groaning and releasing her lip. Fu grinned, shifting her hips again and capturing his own lip, only for him to pull her hips down against his, increasing the friction and making her gasp. As soon as she did, he moved down, beginning to kiss the side of her neck, over her pulse point, suckling at the skin there and earning a moan for his trouble. Fu rolled, bringing him with her and he smiled, biting down lightly, hands sliding up her sides to cup her breasts. Fu moaned, arching her back and pressing her chest into his palms as she ground her hips against him, Ryuu shifting to place a leg between hers for her, Fu moaning appreciatively.

Ryuu moved up, kissing her again and slipping his tongue into her mouth, Fu's beginning to dance with his instantly. After several seconds, Fu pulled her shirt off, Ryuu smiling as his hands met the bare skin of her breasts. She moaned again, rocking harder against his leg and he began to kiss his way down her neck and to her beasts, taking a nipple into his mouth. He began to suckle on it gently, his hand massaging the other. After a moment, he released her nipple, beginning to kiss every centimeter of exposed skin before moving back to her now stiff nipple. Fu held his head in place, moaning loudly. As Ryuu moved to the other nipple, his right hand slid down her taut stomach to the waistband of her pants, slipping under them and beginning to run a finger through her slick womanhood. Fu bit down on her lip to silence a moan, hips bucking up to meet his hand, desperate for more pressure. Ryuu smiled, moving his finger faster, noticing that each time his finger brushed a small ball of flesh at the top, Fu's hips bucked and she gasped. Finally, Ryuu slid his hand out of her pants, Fu groaning in complaint. Ryuu kissed his way down her stomach and gripped the waistband of her pants, Fu lifting her hips so that he could pull them down. Once they were out of the way, he moved down, tongue trailing through her slit and earning a loud moan.

He circled her entrance a couple of times before moving up to the small ball of flesh and nerves, locking his lips around it and flicking it with his tongue, sucking it into his mouth. Fu moaned, then gasped as he pushed one finger into her. Her hips bucked and he began to thrust it into her quickly. Fu held a pillow over her face to keep quiet, and Ryuu chuckled to himself. After a moment, he pushed a second finger into her and Fu's hips bucked again, her hands pushing the pillow tight to her face. Her hips rolled with his thrusts, and he could feel her insides quivering against his fingers. He smiled, moving up and pulling the pillow out of the way, kissing her as his thumb made small, fast circles over her clit and his fingers thrust into her rapidly.

Fu tilted her head back, yanking the pillow back into place just as she cried out in pleasure, her inner walls clamping down on his fingers and her hips bucking hard. Ryuu continued to thrust his fingers, thumb continuing its circles, until Fu finally began to come down from her orgasm. He pulled his fingers out, licking them clean and enjoying her taste before kissing Fu, who moaned as she tasted herself on his tongue. After a moment, she rolled them over again so that she was on top and pulled his pants and boxers off, exposing his member.

"My turn," Fu smiled.

She began to stroke him lightly, then bent down, taking him into her mouth. Ryuu sucked in a breath, holding back a groan as she began to bob her head. He gripped the sheet in order to keep himself from forcing Fu to do anything. And he wasn't even really sure what it is he'd make her do. After a couple minutes, she released him, crawling up his body and kissing him, lining him up with her entrance. She sat up, taking a moment to make sure he was lined up and to prepare herself, then lowered her hips, beginning to take him into her tunnel. Ryuu groaned loudly as her slick inner walls began to slide along him. After several moments, he was finally seated fully inside of her, Fu's face screwed up in pain and concentration. Ryuu began to rub her clit and Fu moaned, tilting her head back. After a few moments, she began to raise her hips, then dropped back down, once again burying him completely inside of herself. She moaned loudly, repeating the action again and again, beginning to bounce faster and harder by the second, Ryuu's thumb never leaving her clit. Ryuu could feel pressure beginning to build and used chakra to block it, not wanting to stop yet. Then, he grabbed her hips, rolling them over and taking over thrusting, not slowing in the slightest. He bent down, kissing her, their tongues dueling, and Fu's hands began to knead at her breasts as her hips bucked up against his.

Ryuu felt the trapped pressure begin to turn into a throbbing ache, but tried to ignore it. He focussed on rubbing her clit faster, and on thrusting into her harder and faster. Fu rapidly began to come undone, breaking the kiss and grabbing a pillow, beginning to cry out in pleasure, the pillow barely managing to muffle her. Ryuu reached out, placing a hand to the wall and spreading silencing seals over the room. Then, he pulled out of Fu, rolling her over and lifting her hips, pushing back into her from behind and continuing, Fu no longer able to cover her mouth with a pillow. Ryuu was glad he had silenced the room, because as he continued, Fu's cries began to grow louder as she panted and gasped for breath, despite how loud she was. Then, finally, Ryuu couldn't take the pressure anymore. Just as he released the chakra stopping him from finishing, however, Fu screamed, bucking back against him as her insides clamped down almost painfully tight. Then, his seed flooded into her, Fu crying out again, rocking her hips against him, insides milking every last drop out of him.

Finally, his member began to soften, slipping out of her with a pop and Ryuu fell onto the bed beside her, Fu moaning and cuddling into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling the blanket over them and sighing.

"I hope they didn't hear," Fu said.

"Tayuya might have," Ryuu chuckled, extending his senses. "Yugao's not home yet. Still training, I think." He reached up, touching the wall and removing his silencing seal. "We should get dressed before we fall asleep. In case someone wants to check on us."

Fu nodded, yawning and making no move to get dressed. Ryuu chuckled again, reaching down to the foot of the bed where her clothes had somehow, miraculously, stayed on the bed and pulled them onto her. Fu smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips as thanks and Ryuu chuckled, reaching over to the floor and grabbing his boxers, pulling them on before curling his body around Fu, drifting off into a blessedly pleasant sleep.

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	79. Chapter 79

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

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Finding A Friend

Fu walked outside, looking around. When she had woken up, Ryuu had been gone. She had assumed he was making dinner, so she showered and cleaned up, then get dressed and headed downstairs. Except, he wasn't there either.

"Ryuu?" Fu called out. "Are you here?" She looked around, then headed for the hot spring. Empty. She turned, walking to the house to check the basement. Empty. She headed back into the backward. "Ryuu!" She was starting to get worried.

"Good morning," Ryuu said, Fu spinning and shouting in surprise before glaring at him.

"Where were you?" Fu demanded.

"Sorry," Ryuu smiled. "I wanted to stretch my...uh...legs. So I went for a run."

"Why'd you hesitate?" Fu asked. "And how come I didn't see you coming, or hear you?"

"I'm a lot faster now," Ryuu shrugged. "As for the hesitation, I had a brain fart." He shrugged.

Fu sighed, leaning against his chest. "You scared me."

"I'm sorry," Ryuu smiled, wrapping his arms around her. "So, you ready to watch Kabuto rehab me?"

"Ugh," Fu groaned. "It's going to be so boring!"

"Well we could always get his permission to spar after," Ryuu smiled, Fu grinning.

"Definitely," Fu smiled. "I want to show off what I've learned."

"You and me both," Ryuu smiled.

They walked through the village to the hospital where Kabuto had been working as an ER doctor while being watched by ANBU. He met them at the door, leading them to one of his rooms where he used Medical Ninjutsu to begin regenerating Ryuu's muscles. As he did, Ryuu asked if he and Fu could spar and Kabuto chuckled.

"I doubt it'll be sparring so much as rearranging the landscape, but sure," Kabuto said. "You can spar to your hearts content, as long as you don't break any bones. Oh, and before you leave, remind me to give you a scroll on how to regenerate muscles. It'll help you rehab faster, and help you train."

Ryuu nodded and Kabuto continued to work in silence, Fu absentmindedly combing her fingers through Ryuu's hair, starting to put him to sleep. Finally, Kabuto finished what he was going to do for that day and Fu woke up Ryuu who thanked Kabuto and left with Fu and the scroll.

* * *

Ryuu sighed as he inspected his tanto. Fu had taken good care of it. And his trench knife. She had kept them both in perfect condition. But one thing was missing. He had been too afraid to ask, even though the cage was in his room, and he was reminded of it every time he looked at it. He sighed heavily and stood, putting his tanto in its sheath on his back and walking downstairs where the other three were all helping cook lunch.

"Hello Ryuu," Yugao smiled. "Going training?"

Ryuu remained silent for a moment before sighing again. "We need to talk."

"What's wrong?" Yugao asked, Tayuya and Fu both turning toward him.

"Where's Yomo?" Ryuu asked. "His cage was empty when I got back, there's food in it but it hasn't been eaten at all, and even though no one's cleaned it, I can tell he hasn't been in it. Where is he?"

"Yomo...he disappeared not long after you did," Tayuya said. "We tried looking for him, but...well..."

"Birds don't like us like they do you," Fu said.

"I doubt birds will like me anymore," Ryuu said. "Okay. I'm going to go see if I can find him. Maybe he has a nest somewhere around the village."

The girls all nodded, watching him walk out of the house. He knew Yomo wouldn't have a nest around the village. But he had to try. Yomo was the only family he had left. Actually, that wasn't quite true. He would always have Fu, and he had Yugao and Tayuya as well, but Yomo was the family member that saved him from his despair after Shisui had died. In a way, he felt like Yomo had been sent to him by Shisui. As a way for Shisui to tell him he was still around.

Ryuu stopped as he reached the forest. He prepared himself to whistle, but stopped. What if the birds didn't answer? They had always been there. They had always been his friends. He loved birds. but what if they didn't trust him anymore? He couldn't blame them. He sighed, shaking his head. He had to try. If he didn't, he could never find Yomo. He took a breath, silently praying for God to allow him to still be able to have the birds' trust, then released a long, loud whistle. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the sound of hundreds of sets of wings all taking flight at once sounded and every bird within hearing distance, and there were a _lot_ , came flooding out of the trees. Ryuu laughed, smiling as tears of relief fell down his cheeks and he spread his arms. The birds landed on his arms, shoulders, head feet, they landed around him on the ground and in the trees, and then even more crammed themselves along his arms. He smiled, looking around at all of the birds who were singing and calling to each other, like a thousand excited children whose parent had come home at last.

Then, there was a flurry of movement on his right shoulder, as the birds there moved, clearing half his arm to make room and a crow landed there, cocking its head as it stared at Ryuu, a frog held in its mouth. Ryuu stared at him, tears running down his cheeks again.

"Yomo!" he smiled, moving his left hand to his shoulder, holding the frog for Yomo while Yomo ate. "Couldn't you find anything cleaner to eat?"

Yomo pecked him on the side of the head and Ryuu laughed at the nostalgia. The birds that had been on his arms began to fly around Ryuu in circles and he smiled, whistling a short tune, dozens of mocking birds beginning to echo it, sparking a spontaneous song from every bird present besides Yomo, Ryuu laughing happily as it did. Then, after a few minutes, it began to wind down.

"Thank you, all of you," Ryuu smiled. "I missed you all. I have to head home now. But I'll see you all again. Promise."

The birds all took flight again, chirping, and cawing, and a couple screeching, all saying their goodbyes as they took off into the trees or the air again. Ryuu tossed the remains of Yomo's frog away, scooping him into his arms and gently hugging him as he walked back to the house.

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	80. Chapter 80

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Chunin Exams, Again

Ryuu looked around in silence. It seemed like only a couple villages were taking part. The Hidden Sand, which was hosting the exams jointly with the Hidden Leaf, the Hidden Rain, and the Hidden Grass. Ryuu studied each shinobi carefully, also using his senses to gauge their chakra levels. Not many actually stood out as being very powerful, though he knew first-hand that Kekkei Genkai could change that, or unique fighting styles. Or Taijutsu.

One team that did was from the Hidden Rain. The seeming leader of the three was a girl with rust colored hair falling to her shoulders with a bundle of it tied up on the top of her head, hair sticking out from both sides of the knot of what could either be her hair or a matching piece of fabric, he wasn't sure. She had a calculating look in her pale green eyes not unlike his own, and wore a lavender kimono jacket with purple up the middle and around the collar, which stood straight up, had her sleeves rolled halfway up her forearms, blue pants, and had an orange length of cloth around her waist as a belt. One of her teammates had on a dark grey shirt with long, loose sleeves, a lighter grey cloth tied around her, trapping and concealing her right arm before hanging around her legs to her ankles like a dress, though he had seen dark grey pants through the opening on her left side. She carried an umbrella on her back, wore a yellow choker, and her black hair fell over the left side of her face from above her forehead protector. The other teammate had messy green hair falling from under her bandanna-style forehead protector to just past her shoulders, a cloth mask over the bottom half of her face, and a large dull grey poncho hung from her shoulders to her waist, concealing her shirt and her arms up until her wrists. she had bandages reaching from her wrists up under the poncho, and the lower half of a plain dark grey kimono hung around her legs, a yellow cloth around her waist.

Ryuu's eyes continued to rove the new faces. The hidden Sand had sent a few decently powerful shinobi. Though, no one that was likely to give himself, Fu, and Tayuya any problems. Judging by power and posture, however, he found one full team, and then one individual that stuck out. The team had a kunoichi with dark brown hair in a ponytail with bangs framing her face, a sleeve-less white kimono shirt with the top open to reveal a bit of cleavage, a dark red cloth around her waist with a rope around the middle of it, holding what looked like medicine bottles to her waist. She had on a pair of black short shorts, had a Suna forehead protector on each of her black forearm sleeves, and had open-toed shinobi boots with laces. The stronger of her teammates had a guy with messy blonde hair hanging in front of his right eye, a long-sleeved light grey shirt with no shoulders and the sleeves cuffed halfway up his forearms underneath a tight brown vest with his forehead protector on the back and a scroll and breast pocket on either side of the front, dark blue shorts, black boots that reached just above his knee, mesh armor exposed in the gap between the shorts and boots, and black gloves. The other teammate was extremely gaunt with dull purple hair hanging to his shoulders, his forehead protector where it was supposed to be, a faded yellow shirt with three-quarter sleeves, a dark blue scarf, and tight blue pants. He seemed strong, but from the way he was standing, Ryuu could tell he was actually more the sensor or ranged fighter.

The individual Ryuu had picked out from Suna wasn't strong, at least as far as his chakra implied. In fact, his chakra felt...incomplete. In the same way that Rock Lee's did. He wore a sleeveless dark green shirt with a collar, a pair of black pants and sandals, grey metal forearm guards, his forehead protector hung from the front of his shirt, and he had a yellow cloth around his waist. He had dark grey hair and had several scars on his body. One was on his left shoulder, one was on the left side of his jaw, and one was across the front of his neck. His general bearing was the same as Lee whenever Lee got serious and stopped being hyperactive.

Fu nudged him suddenly and nodded to a trio from the Sand Village Ryuu had passed over. "The brunette's Matsuri, Gaara's student that we went to save the day you..."

"Oh?" Ryuu asked.

He looked the team over. They were new and inexperienced. One of the three, a girl wit long black hair falling past her forehead protector and down her back to her waist with a bit over each shoulder and her bangs framing her face, black elbow-length gloves with splints on the forearms, an off-white, short-sleeved, midriff shirt under an equally small jacket vest, a pale purple skirt that didn't quite reach her knees, thigh-high stockings, and a pair of sandals, was talking with the other two about how excited she was to be representing the Hidden Sand village. Matsuri countered that it was too soon to get worked up. Matsuri had shoulder-length brown hair, a pink, shoulderless, short-sleeved shirt, her forehead protector around her neck, a pair of armored gloves like her black-haired teammate, a dark purple skirt, thigh-high black stockings, and black sandals. Their other teammate agreed with Matsuri. He had messy brown hair, large round glasses, a white sash diagonally across his torso from his right shoulder to the left side of his waist, a dark green jacket with a thick which strip around the bottom of his sleeves and the bottom of the jacket, and pants that were dark grey at the top and bottom, and light grey for most of each pant leg.

"She looks safe," Ryuu said, Fu giggling.

"Naruto and Gaara worked together to save her," Fu said.

"Oh, I have a question," Ryuu said. "While we're on the subject of that mission, did Shikamaru ever get that kiss I told him to?"

Fu giggled again, shaking her head. "Sadly, no. He chickened out."

Ryuu chuckled, shaking his head and looking around again. No one from the Hidden Grass looked overly interesting. Then, he reached the Hidden Leaf groups. Everyone from his class that was still in the village was present, barring Shikamaru since he was still Chunin. They all began to head over and Ryuu smiled. It was the first time he had been able to see most of them since he had gotten back, excluding the emotional reunion at the gate.

"Ryuu, how've you been?" Hinata smiled.

"I'm good," Ryuu smiled.

"You look good as new," Kiba said.

"All thanks to Kabuto," Ryuu smiled.

"Well, not entirely," Kabuto said, walking over. "You did a lot of the work yourself, once I showed you how."

Ryuu smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"Just came to wish you luck," Kabuto said. "Actually, while I'm here, I'd like to talk to you for a moment."

Ryuu nodded and they walked away from the others. "What's up?"

"Did Lady Tsunade tell you what the true purpose of these chunin exams are?" Kabuto asked.

"No," Ryuu said, shaking his head. "What's going on?"

"She hopes to draw out the Akatsuki," Kabuto said. "Keep a close eye on Fu. While you're in the village, you'll be safe, but the exams will be moving to the Land of Wind for the second stage."

"We'll be careful," Ryuu nodded. "Thank you."

"Also, we have yet to find the hideout where I believe Mhao was being sent from," Kabuto said. "You should prepare for a run in with at least one of him, maybe several. Just in case."

Ryuu nodded. "I can handle it now."

"I'm sure," Kabuto nodded. "That's the other thing. Try to keep the full extent of your abilities under wraps. At least for a while. Wouldn't want any unnecessary attention."

Ryuu nodded and walked back to the others, the three of them heading over to where Kotetsu and Izumo were sitting behind a table. Ryuu grinned. "Hey guys. What, no trying to make us think we're in the wrong place?"

"Nah, not this time," Kotetsu chuckled. "Most of the genin this time, especially those from our village, have been around the block a few times. You especially."

Ryuu nodded, handing the application Tsunade had given him to them, Kotetsu holding up a oddly shaped box with several rubber triangles hiding what was inside, three sticks poking out of it. They each pulled one out and saw that they had numbers on them from one to three. Ryuu groaned.

"Fuck you Shikamaru," Ryuu sighed.

"What?" Tayuya asked.

"We're being separated for the first test," Ryuu said.

"That's right," Izumo nodded. "Please return the lots and head to the classroom matching the number you drew."

Ryuu sighed, sticking his back into the box. "Well, two it is."

"I got three," Tayuya sighed.

"I'm number one!" Fu smiled.

"Yes you are," Ryuu smiled, Tayuya groaning as they walked away from the table.

"Just because you two fucked doesn't mean I want to hear about it," Tayuya said.

"That's not what we meant!" Ryuu and Fu both said, both blushing scarlet, Tayuya laughing.

Ryuu shook his head, following one of the chunin's directions to his classroom, finding Lee and Ino already present.

"Hey guys," Ryuu smiled just before the door shut behind him. He turned, resting a hand against it before rolling his eyes. "It's sealed shut."

Just then, an intercom turned on, a voice clearing their throat before a screen at the front of the room turned on, showing Shikamaru.

"I'm Shikamaru Nara," Shikamaru introduced himself as Ryuu sat down near the back of the room, everyone else taking their seats as well. "I'm the proctor of the first round of the chunin exams. Please take one sheet of paper from the stack on the teacher's desk, and then take any seat."

Ryuu raised an eyebrow, raising a hand and extending a chakra thread, pulling a sheet of paper to himself, setting it down and staring at it.

"Is everyone seated?" Shikamaru asked. "This is a drag so let's get right too it."

Ryuu's eyes flicked up to the concealed camera in the wall over the tv screen. He smirked. Shikamaru was as clever as always. He looked back at the paper.

"This is a drag for him?" someone asked.

"It's serious business for us," another said.

Ryuu chuckled, picking up his pencil and twirling it between his fingers.

"You guys are lucky, cause I'm the one in charge this year," Shikamaru said.

"No kidding," Ryuu smirked. "I'd hate to have Ibiki Morino again." He looked up at the screen where Shikamaru was clearly lounging back in his chair.

"This is a written test," Shikamaru said. "Read the questions closely."

Ryuu's eyes dropped again to the paper. There were only three questions, and all three were easy.

"The three questions are worth, from the top down, thirty points, forty points, and fifty points," Shikamaru said.

"Wait a minute, that's one twenty!" someone said.

"Shouldn't it add up to a hundred?" someone else asked.

Ryuu stared at the paper. There was a twist. It was Shikamaru, so there had to be a twist. He just had to figure it out. And hope Fu and Tayuya did too.

"Each of you will answer only one of the three questions," Shikamaru said, Ryuu's eyes narrowing further. "Your team's total points will determine whether you pass. If your team's total points exceeds one hundred, than the whole team will be disqualified. Then we'll average out the scores of the teams that remain and any who fall below the average will be disqualified too."

There it was.

"Average score!?" someone demanded.

"That's totally unfair!" someone else said.

"The exam starts now," Shikamaru said.

A buzzer sounded and his face was replaced by a thirty minute timer. Ryuu set his head down. They had to, as a team, get two thirties and a forty in order to pass safely. The problem was obviously figuring out who would do the forty and who would get thirty. Ryuu had no doubt that his team could each answer all three questions, but trying to decide who would do the forty without talking to each other was next to impossible. He sighed, standing.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Ino asked.

"Were we told that we couldn't talk or walk around?" Ryuu asked. "They told us how to not get disqualified, and the board says 'No Unauthorized Fighting,' but when did anyone tell us we had to stay put?"

"True," Ino said. "So, is the test what I think it is?"

"You're smart," Ryuu shrugged. "You'll figure it out."

He walked to the window, leaning against it and staring up at the clouds, thinking. The windows were double-paned and were definitely not opening. There also weren't any vents in the room, or a single crack around the door. Shikamaru had planned for Shino as well.

"So, since we're allowed to talk, can anyone explain how we pass?" someone asked.

"As a team, get a hundred," Ryuu said. "Either get two thirties and a forty, or get two fifties and a zero," Ryuu said. "If you can somehow communicate with your team through a jutsu, you have a severe advantage."

"Anyone like that here?" Lee asked. "You can play telephone for the rest of us."

"If you trust them not to get you all eliminated," Ryuu said. "The safest thing would be to simply answer the thirty point question, and hope neither of your teammates answers the fifty. At least, until the average score is introduced. Then, assuming that any team gets above a ninety, anyone who did will be eliminated."

"What are you thinking?" Ino asked.

"There's more to this test than just this," Ryuu said. "Hard as it is, it's not as hard as Shikamaru could have made it."

"That's true," Ino nodded.

She sighed, closing her eyes and holding her hands together, in the Ram seal. Ryuu sighed, closing his eyes and thinking. Suddenly, he heard a ringing in his ears. He stopped, focussing on it. Then, it turned into a voice.

"Ryuu, it's Fu," Fu's voice whispered into his ear, Ryuu's eyes widening. "I'll explain later. Tayuya's doing the forty."

Then, the ringing was gone. Ryuu smiled, shaking his head and quickly writing out the answer to the thirty point question. Just as he finished, the inevitable happened. Everyone began to shout for their teammates. Ryuu chuckled, shaking his head. Had Fu not had it covered, he'd have probably been as screwed as them. Just then, there were five loud bangs, the impacts hard enough to shake the floor. Ryuu smirked. Smart. Whoever was signaling was telling their teammates, and therefor whoever was in the other classrooms, to get the two fifty point questions. Fortunately, Fu and Tayuya would have already done their questions. As if on cue, the ringing in his ears returned.

"The banging is in my room," Fu said before the ringing faded for a moment, two more sets of five bangs coming. "It's Neji trying to signal and a Hidden Sand ninja is trying to mess him up. Stick with the original plan. Tayuya does forty, me and Ryuu do thirty."

Then, the ringing faded again. Suddenly, the speaker came on.

"I made it clear, round one is a _written_ exam," Shikamaru said. "Fighting is prohibited. Just keep quiet and finish the exam before the time runs out."

"Sounds like someone's not getting along," Ryuu said.

"Wonder who," Ino said, thinking for a moment. "Oh well."

Finally, after about fifteen more minutes of waiting, the clock finally hit zero and a buzzer sounded.

"Time's up," Shikamaru said. "Everyone flip over your papers."

Ryuu did as instructed.

"For the test's second part..." Shikamaru said, stopping to let everyone complain.

Ryuu's forehead bounced off the desk several times before he rested his chin in his hand. He hated being right.

"Question," Shikamaru said. "Your team is on a mission, and the enemy spots you. To shake off their pursuit, one team member must stay behind as a decoy. Who do you choose, knowing that the decoy faces certain death? Write down your answer on the back. To pass, all three team members must have the same answer. And the member who is named as the decoy will be considered killed and eliminated from the exams. You have three minutes. You may begin."

Ryuu stared at the speaker. Shikamaru was evil. He sighed, staring at the paper. He himself was the member who, in reality, would be the most likely to stay behind, as well as the one with the best chance of living anyway. At least, arguably. It was still up in the air if he had actually become stronger than Fu since they hadn't gotten around to sparring. That said, there was no way that Fu would let him stay behind alone again, so she would never write his name, just like he would never right hers. And from a tactical standpoint based on specific abilities, Tayuya actually would be a better decoy and better at delaying. Cruel as it was, both of the other girls would reach the same conclusion. Ryuu sighed setting his pencil against the paper before stopping, remembering Naruto's speech from the last test. Ryuu had sworn to save Tayuya. And she was a friend. He would die before letting a friend sacrifice themselves. In a situation like that, he would stay with them, and so would Fu. He lifted the pencil, staring at the paper before setting the pencil down beside it.

Just as he did, the ringing returned. "No one. Leave it blank. Tayuya is too."

Ryuu nodded. They would all pass or fail together. Just like they would in real life. A few seconds later, the buzzer sounded and the door swung open, Kotetsu walking in.

"I'll collect all of your papers," Kotetsu said. "Wait in your classrooms while they're graded. Those who passed will be called out to the schoolyard."

All of the papers were passed to the front and Kotetsu collected them, walking back out. Ryuu sighed, rubbing his temples. Shikamaru sure knew how to give him a headache.

"Who did you say for the last question?" Ino asked quietly, walking over with Lee.

"I didn't," Ryuu said. "In that situation, I'd be the best choice, but Fu wouldn't let me. And if Fu tried it, I'd hog tie her and drag her off with me. Tayuya would be the second best choice, but she's a friend, and a part of my family. So I couldn't sit by and let her sacrifice herself either. So, seeing as how there's no way I could let either of them do it, and I know Fu would never let me do it, I left it blank. According to Fu, so did she and Tayuya."

"Me, Sakura, and Choji did that too," Ino sighed.

"I left mine blank as well," Lee said. "I would never allow my friends to fight alone."

"And Neji and Tenten would never let you do it either," Ryuu nodded. "I guess the nine of us will either pass or fail together."

Lee and Ino nodded. Then, one by one, they were called out of the classroom. Finally, Ryuu was called and all three breathed a sigh of relief. Ryuu walked down to the schoolyard and found Fu and Tayuya waiting. Fu met him with a hug and he smiled.

"I'm glad you both saw things my way," Ryuu smiled.

"It took a bit of persuading," Fu said.

"I was sure you two would put my name down," Tayuya said. "After all, there's no way you two would put each other's."

"By that line of thought, you're right," Ryuu said. "For the purposes of this test, you _would_ have been the most logical answer. But you're family too, Tayuya. So there's no way I'd ever let you sacrifice yourself. We either all succeed or we all fail. No matter which, we do it together."

Tayuya smiled and nodded. Then, Shikamaru and Temari both arrived, stepping up onto a small platform to be seen by everyone.

"Alright," Shikamaru said. "Those of you here have passed the first round, congratulations."

Ryuu looked around. There were a lot of teams there, but he could swear that a couple looked incomplete, like they had one person missing. But if that was true, then they actually _did_ pass by leaving one behind, as long as they could agree on one. Just then, a Hidden Sand shinobi turned to them as Lee, Neji, and Tenten walked over, along with the other Hidden Leaf ninja from Ryuu's class.

"How come you all have all three members?" the Hidden Sand genin asked. "Wasn't the decoy supposed to be failed?"

"The rule was that all three had to have the same answer," Neji said. "So our team didn't choose anyone."

"Ours too," Ryuu said, the others nodding. "We all either live or die together."

"Wait, what?" the Hidden Sand ninja asked.

"We all turned in blank sheets," Lee said.

"What?" the Sand ninja asked. "All of you?"

"Yup," Tenten nodded. "There's no way we'd ever sacrifice a comrade. Like Ryuu said, he live or die together."

"Just look how many teams made it with all three members," Neji said, gesturing around.

Ryuu spotted Matsuri's team and smiled. He was glad they made it. Just then, Temari stepped up on the stand and slammed her folded up fan down, getting everyone's attention.

"I'm Temari of the Sand," Temari introduced herself. "I'm in charge of round two."

"Oh here we go again," Ryuu groaned. "First the boyfriend, and now his even more sadistic girlfriend."

"Too many teams passed the first round, so we're going to have to narrow things down even more," Temari said.

"What do you mean by that?" the Sand genin asked.

"First, round two is also a team battle," Temari said. "So any team without it's third member is disqualified."

"What?" the Sand genin's remaining teammate asked. "No way!"

"Furthermore, this upcoming round of the Chunin exams is to be held in the Hidden Sand Village," Temari said. "Although there's a clear route between the Hidden Leaf and Hidden Sand villages, it will take a Shinobi three days, no matter how fast they are."

"Bet," Ryuu smirked, glancing at Fu who grinned knowingly.

A jonin beside the stand sent a messenger hawk into the air, everyone watching it go.

"We just dispatched a messenger hawk to the hidden sand," Temari said. "It's message reads, after the first thirty, all who follow are disqualified."

"Piece of cake," Ryuu smirked.

"Finally, as in round one, fighting is prohibited en route," Temari said. "You can fight to your heart's content in round two. That's all."

"Lee, Tenten!" Neji said, the three of them taking off.

"As always, he's quick to assess the situation," Shikamaru said.

"What's wrong?" Temari asked. "I just said, that's all!"

Everyone stared at her for several seconds, except for Ryuu's former classmates, who all took off after Neji. He smiled. They had all been there at some point, so they all knew the easiest path. Hell, they all took the easiest path at least halfway when they went to save Matsuri.

"I get it!" one of the other Konoha genin finally shouted. "This means the elimination's already begun!"

Instantly, it was a stampede. Except, they all went in every direction, rather than following Ryuu's friends. He, Fu, and Tayuya watched them all go and sighed, shaking their heads.

"What are you still doing here?" Temari asked.

"So, you said no Shinobi can make it in less than three days," Ryuu said. "Wanna make a bet about it?"

"Okay, sure," Temari smirked. "What do you want if you win?"

"Oh not me," Ryuu snorted. "Shikamaru's been dying to take you on a date, but he's too chicken to ask you out."

Temari raised an eyebrow, turning to Shikamaru who turned scarlet.

"W-What?" Shikamaru stammered. "N-No, it's not like that!"

"If I win, you have to give him a big, sloppy kiss right in front of everyone," Ryuu smirked, both Shikamaru and Temari blushing. "Consider it payback for the headache Shikamaru gave me during the first test."

"Alright kid, you're on," Temari said. "And when I win, you have to take the rest of the exams in a skirt and bra, assuming you're not disqualified. And that's all you're allowed, too."

"Oh, so free-balling it, huh?" Ryuu nodded. "You're on."

"Wait, what?" Temari blinked. "No! You can wear underwear!"

"Nope, you said skirt and bra," Ryuu shrugged. "Not that it matters. There's no way I'm losing this race."

"I'd like to see you-"

She stopped as a pair of wings spread from Ryuu's back formed of glowing, light blue, chakra feathers. Then, the wings flapped once and Ryuu shot into the air, bringing Tayuya by the forearm before stopping, wings spreading out to the sides and holding him there.

"Coming Fu?" Ryuu asked.

Fu squealed in delight and surprise, extending her own wings and shooting up to him, grabbing him in a hug and spinning them all, Tayuya grabbing Ryuu's wrist in a death grip as they did.

"You can fly!" Fu cheered as Ryuu laughed, hugging her back.

"Yes I can," Ryuu smiled. "Finally. Oh shit, sorry Tayuya."

"It's fine," Tayuya said. "Let's just, not fly too fast, okay?"

Fu grinned wickedly, Ryuu winking to her. "Okay Tayuya. We won't."

Ryuu whistled and a moment later, Yomo arrived, burrowing his way into Ryuu's flak jacket and poking its head out. Then, Fu took Tayuya's other arm, both lifting her up and wrapping her arms over their shoulders before wrapping their inside arms around her waist, grabbing hold of her and putting one of their feet under hers. Then, Ryuu's wings flapped once and they were off, streaking over the trees away from the village, Tayuya screaming in fear as they both laughed.

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	81. Chapter 81

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Interlude

Ryuu stood as Temari stepped out of the building, glaring at him. He had been waiting for a little under two days for this. He and Fu had managed to fly nonstop to the Hidden Sand Village. However, it had taken him a little longer than he expected. Rather than a day, it had taken him about thirty hours. The rest of the groups that had made it were all around them, gasping and panting for breath from having run the entire way. Well, with the exception of Lee's team, since all they ever did was run. After a few moments of telling everyone that they were the only ones that had passed, Temari turned to Shikamaru, who began backing away.

"I never agreed to-" That was all Shikamaru could get out before Temari grabbed him by the shirt, pulling him into a kiss.

Instantly, Ryuu and his friends began to cheer and laugh, Ryuu noticing several of the Hidden Sand ninja doing the same. Finally, she pulled back, shoving Shikamaru, who fell onto his rear, staring off into the distance in a daze, making everyone laugh harder. Then, they saw Temari's expression and went silent, Ryuu raising an eyebrow. She was glaring at him, but even while doing that, there was a wicked, sadistic grin plastered to her face. Sado chuckled. He was actually excited to see what she'd do to pay him back.

Ryuu turned, raising a hand to wave to her as he and the others headed into the building, everyone else doing the same. Any teams that hadn't done so already, meaning pretty much everyone, went to choose rooms, each team having their own. Then, a little while later, a loudspeaker announced dinner, calling all genin to the cafeteria. Ryuu walked there with his team, finding that they were the last to arrive. As they walked in, they saw that the villages had separated themselves from each other. The Leaf was on one side, the Sand on the other, and the Hidden Rain in the middle. It seemed that the Hidden Grass Village had failed to make it through.

He turned to the food and smiled. There was a massive feast prepared, even _with_ both Choji and Fu present. Ryuu smiled and glanced at Fu, then at the other two villages' shinobi.

"Hey Fu, see if you can get them all to be friendlier with each other," Ryuu said. "You _are_ still good at making friends, right?"

Fu smiled and nodded. Then, her entire personality seemed to shift, becoming the over-excited, bubbly, innocent Fu that had introduced herself by asking him to be her friend. She darted over to the Sand Village table first, greeting everyone rapidly, actually managing to get a few people to agree to be friends. Within minutes, she had most of the table laughing and smiling. Then, one of the guys standing against the wall pushed off the wall. He was tall, muscular, and shirtless. He had on a black cape, a white turban, as was common in Sunagakure, a forehead protector over the turban, a metal face mask styled to look like large pointed teeth interlocked, a brown cloth belt, and black pants. He had purple markings reaching forward from under his cape and curving toward each other, two per side, and ending in points.

"Hey girly," the guy said. "I'll be your friend too."

Ryuu instantly disliked him, based on the tone of his voice and the way his eyes seemed to be incapable of rising or falling beyond Fu's chest.

"But first, I got a job for you," the guy continued. "I should probably warn you, though, it blows."

Fu's smile vanished as fast as Ryuu appeared in front of the genin, holding him against the wall by his throat with one hand.

"I'm sorry," Ryuu snarled. "I must have heard you wrong. What was that thing you just said to my girlfriend?"

"Let him go, Ryuu," Neji said. "We don't need to cause any trouble."

"I'll let him go when he apologizes to Fu," Ryuu said, lifting him a little higher.

The genin glared at Ryuu, apparently being more brave than smart.

"Dude, just apologize!" a Hidden Sand shinobi off to the side with orange hair and a long pointed nose said.

"Fine!" the genin finally choked out. "I'm...sorry!"

"For?" Ryuu said.

"For asking you to suck my dick!" the genin choked out.

Ryuu raised an eyebrow before setting him on his feet, snorting. "Was that really so hard?" As he was walking away, he picked up their entire table with one hand, moving it out of the way and clearing Fu a path. "He's all yours Fu."

The genin's eyes widened before Fu shot forward, stopping in front of him and drilling a knee into his groin. He collapsed instantly, clutching at his damaged manhood and Ryuu set the table back in its place.

"Maybe next time, you'll remember to have respect when you speak to a girl," Ryuu said.

"What the hell!?" one of the Suna genin demanded, this one wearing a brown mask with black over the eyes. "I thought you said if he apologized you'd let him go!"

"One, I _did_ let him go," Ryuu pointed out. "Two, he had no respect when he apologized. And three, I can't speak for what Fu does."

"But weren't you protecting her?" the genin asked.

Ryuu snorted in amusement. "She definitely doesn't need protecting from someone like him. But aside from that, no, I wasn't. I just don't like it when people talk to my girlfriend like she's a prostitute."

One of the Hidden Sand genin that Ryuu assumed was in the injured genin's team sprinted forward, throwing a punch at Ryuu, only for Ryuu to suddenly be behind him, hooking his foot through the genin's and tripping him.

"Well well, it looks like we've got a tough guy," Ryuu smiled. "Calm down kid. I'm not looking for a fight. The problem's been dealt with."

"You _are_ the problem!" the genin said, standing and turning to punch him again, Ryuu sighing.

"Stop it!" a feminine voice shouted, the genin stopping and turning to look, Ryuu doing the same, both seeing Matsuri standing. "This is stupid! Stop fighting like children! We're here to enjoy dinner, not start a brawl!"

The genin sighed, walking back to his table, and Ryuu smiled.

"Thank you Matsuri," Ryuu said.

"How do you know my name?" Matsuri asked.

"Ryuu was our team leader when we were sent to help Lord Kazekage rescue you from those four ninja from the Village of Artisans," Neji said. "However, he was captured by a very powerful rogue ninja before we could complete the mission, and spent a year and a half held prisoner."

"Yeah, and when he got back, they rewarded him for not giving up any village secrets and for escaping by demoting him," Tayuya said. "Fuckin assholes."

"It's fine," Ryuu said, fists clenched and eyes squeezed shut, trying to force the memories away. "Let's just enjoy dinner."

He walked back to his table and the others all silently got food, no one especially hungry anymore. Fu got him a plate, as well as piling her own high with food, and the two of them dug in, Ryuu sighing as the memories began to fade again.

"Thanks," Ryuu smiled. "Sorry I ruined things."

"It's alright," Fu smiled. "I think a few will still be my friends. And besides, I was about to do a whole lot worse than that to him."

Ryuu smiled, shaking his head. After everyone had eaten, they all headed back to their rooms. Ryuu lay on his bed, yawning and covering his mouth.

"You got lazy," Tayuya said.

"So?" Ryuu asked. "It's not like resting is really a bad thing. We're staying in a desert for several days starting tomorrow."

"True," Tayuya said.

Just then, there was a scream from outside, Ryuu sitting bolt upright as he recognized it as Choji's voice.

"Fu, go!" Ryuu said.

Fu leapt out the window, taking off instantly and Ryuu followed, Tayuya heading toward the door downstairs. As soon as Ryuu was outside, he held a hand in front of his face, having to squint to see through the sand. He activated his Sharingan to help and saw a massive shadow holding both Choji and Ino in the air. As he flew closer, he could almost swear it was a giant scorpion with two tails. Then, another appendage of the shadow, clearly a claw, grabbed Sakura, holding her up too. He shook his head. Definitely a giant scorpion.

"Hidden Waterfall Hurricane!" Fu shouted, flying down at the thing from above, crashing down on its back and making it shriek in pain, releasing its captives.

Then, as soon as they were free, the scorpion began to flail around, trying to shake Fu off, Fu cheering as she remained in place.

"This is fun!" Fu shouted.

"Just take it down already Fu!" Sakura shouted. "It's dangerous!"

"Aw," Fu sighed. "Okay."

She drew her tanto and drove it down into the scorpion's head, killing it and making it collapse as Ryuu landed beside it and the rest of their friends ran over. Fu jumped to the ground and smiled proudly.

"Good work Fu," Ryuu smiled. "Anybody hurt?"

"We're fine," Sakura said, holding a cut on her shoulder.

"You're bleeding!" Lee gasped.

"I'll be fine," Sakura smiled.

"Just hold still," the Hidden Sand genin Ryuu had marked as a stronger one the first day, the one with the white shirt and brown hair, said, holding a hand over Sakura's injury and healing it within seconds.

Ryuu raised an eyebrow. She was good. Maybe almost as good as Kabuto.

"You're a Medical Ninja," Ryuu said, walking over. "Where'd you learn?"

"My mother," the girl said, holding her hand out. "I'm Ameno."

"Ryuu," Ryuu said, shaking her hand. "You're really good."

"Thank you," Ameno smiled. "And you're dating a very...interesting girl."

"True," Ryuu chuckled. "She's...well, she's Fu. Not much else can be said about her."

Ameno smiled. "Take good care of her. You won't find anyone else like her."

"You kidding?" Ryuu chuckled. "I couldn't get rid of Fu if I tried. I was considered dead for a year and a half and she still waited. If she can do that for me, there's no way I'm letting anything happen to her."

"Good," Ameno smiled.

"What's going on over here?" Might guy demanded, running over with Gaara and Temari. "Just what exactly happened here?"

"Going outside at night is prohibited," Temari said. "The second exam begins before dawn. Hurry up and return to your quarters!"

"We're sorry Temari," Ryuu said. "We-"

"Oh Guy Sensei!" Choji said, running over. "Oh please! We are starving here!"

"What!?" most of the genin, excluding Ino and Sakura, said.

"Choji, you ate more food than Fu!" Ryuu said. "How are you that hungry?"

"It's Choji," Ino said.

"Fair point," Ryuu said.

"What?" Guy asked. "Seriously? You're starving?" He pulled a package of saltine crackers out of his flak and handed it to Choji. "Go back and focus on mundane thoughts, and even that fire will go out. Missing a single meal won't kill you." He turned sideways to them, crossing his arms while giving them what he thought was a hidden thumbs up. "Think of it like part of your training."

Ryuu rolled his eyes and turned back to the barracks. "Goodnight everyone."

hey all said their goodnights, heading inside and splitting up, heading to bed.

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	82. Chapter 82

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Scroll Hunt

Ryuu walked along with his hands behind his head. The second round was just as self-explanatory as the last time he took the exams. Start with one scroll, fight another team for theirs, get to the tower in the center. Find food on your own, if you can, find water on your own, if you can, and anything goes. Ryuu was starting to think that the proctors all had a script they had to read off of. The biggest change was that it only lasted three days rather than five.

"So how are we playing this?" Tayuya asked. "Fly around until we find someone?"

"Nah," Ryuu said. "We'll do this the right way. Besides, I've been meaning to fight Lee again for a while."

"Me too," Fu nodded. "I can find him if you want."

"Nah," Ryuu smiled. "If we meet them, good for us. If not, well, he'll definitely make it to the finals."

Fu nodded, smiling. "Okay, which way are we going?"

"Let's go...that way," Ryuu said, pointing at random.

The other two nodded and they began to walk. It didn't take long for the full scope of their situation to start to set in. It was barely past sunrise and already the sand was baking hot and the sun was broiling. Ryuu tucked his bangs under his headband to try to keep sweat out of his eyes, only for it to form on the rest of his face anyway. Finally, after nearly an hour, he slowed to a stop, activating his Sharingan and looking around. What he saw, was the wall they had left barely five hundred yards from them.

"Shit," Ryuu said. "Genjutsu."

They all formed Seal of Confrontation, breaking it and Ryuu looked around. In the distance and running away from them, there was a group of Hidden Rain shinobi. It wasn't the team he had picked out as being overly strong, so he smirked, pointing.

"Easy target," Ryuu said. "Let's go see what scroll they have, shall we?"

The other two nodded and they all sprinted after the trio, gaining rapidly. Finally, they caught up, each almost instantly taking down one of the three. Ryuu smiled. It looked like Tayuya's Taijutsu had come a long way while he was away. Ryuu quickly retrieved the scroll and smiled. It was the one they needed.

"Will they be okay here?" Fu asked.

"No," Ryuu said, forming hand seals. "Earth Style, Stone Floor!" He placed his hands down, the sand compressing into stone as Ryuu formed more hand seals. "Earth Style, Rock Shelter!"

A massive dome of stone shot out of the ground in two halves, slamming closed around the three unconscious shinobi, a small section missing and forming a door.

"There," Ryuu said. "That aught to do it."

He turned, heading for the tower as Fu and Tayuya followed.

"That was nice," Tayuya said.

"I've got enough blood on my hands already," Ryuu said.

"Fair enough," Tayuya nodded, regretting saying anything.

Suddenly, Ryuu slowed to a stop, looking around carefully.

"What's wrong?" Fu asked.

"I thought I felt something," Ryuu said.

"Chakra?" Tayuya asked, reaching for her flute.

"Killing Intent," Ryuu said.

They all looked around carefully, seeing a massive rock formation to the west. Without a word, they sprinted toward it, climbing to the top and looking around again.

"I don't see anyone," Tayuya said. "You?"

"No," Ryuu said.

"No one," Fu agreed.

"I have a hunch who I sensed," Ryuu said.

"Mhao," Fu guessed.

"He hasn't been heard from since I was caught," Ryuu said. "So it stands to reason that he's been improving himself this whole time."

"Or simply multiplying," Tayuya said. "There may be a lot of him."

"I hope to hell not," Ryuu said. "One's bad enough. That fucking swarm of different ones that he attacked us with our first mission with you sucked even worse."

"I almost forgot about that," Fu said. "So then we have to assume that he can make his own army, if not of just him, then at least with different ones."

"The first time we met him he was one of three," Ryuu reminded Fu.

"Oh yeah," Fu nodded. "They were a pain in the ass."

Ryuu nodded. "I don't like this. I think we need to get to the tower as soon as possible."

"Agreed," Tayuya nodded. "I could keep playing my flute while we run to keep them from reaching us."

"Yeah," Ryuu nodded. "Do that."

Tayuya nodded, pulling her flute out and beginning to play, the three of them dropping back to the sand and beginning to run. After a few minutes, they slowed to a stop as the ground began to shake.

"Now what?" Ryuu growled.

Then, suddenly, the ground lurched and they all fell before the ground began to sink a little ways away, the pit rapidly expanding and catching them all.

"Of for fuck sake!" Ryuu growled. "A fucking antlion pit?"

He looked down, seeing a massive pair of pincers being uncovered at the bottom. It looked like it wasn't entirely a jutsu.

"Fire Style, Fireball Jutsu!" Ryuu shouted, launching the jutsu into the bottom of the pit, a high screeching sound answering the attack as the giant insect burned.

After several seconds, the screaming faded and the pincers burned away. Then, the bottom of the pit began to drop again, a much, much larger pit forming as more and more of the ground began to fall. Within seconds, the new pit had fallen so fast that Ryuu and the others found themselves in free fall, halfway buried in sand. Ryuu extended his wings, grabbing the others and breaking free, hovering and watching as the sand fell, coating the ground at the bottom of a massive underground cavern. He slowly floated to the ground, setting them down and landing lightly beside them.

"Oh man, my flute's filled with sand," Tayuya said, smacking it against her hand, dislodging some sand but not all of it. "The thing's useless until I can take it apart and clean the holes."

Ryuu wasn't listening. He was slowly turning, looking around, Sharingan peering into the darkness carefully.

"What is it?" Fu asked.

"We are definitely not alone," Ryuu said, drawing his tanto and trench knife. "Tayuya, you're going to want something sharper than that flute."

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	83. Chapter 83

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Demon Desert

"We are definitely not alone," Ryuu said, drawing his tanto and trench knife. "Tayuya, you're going to want something sharper than that flute."

Tayuya put it away, drawing a pair of kunai as Fu drew her tanto and silver kunai, both looking around carefully.

"I can't see anything," Tayuya said.

"Be grateful," Ryuu said. "Trust me, it's not a very pleasant sight."

Tayuya rolled her eyes, pulling out a flare.

"No, don't!" Ryuu said, but he was too late.

She struck the flare, holding it up as its light flooded the cavern. It was massive. They were easily several hundred feet deep, and the cavern stretched for close to a quarter mile at its smallest, then continued too far to see in the other direction. The problem was the things all around them. Ants that stood as tall as them, spiders of any and every kind one would expect from a desert, ranging from trapdoor spiders the size of a horse, to tarantulas that were several feet larger, to Camel Spiders the size of a house, there were Emperor Scorpions as tall as Ryuu and as long as a ship with a stinger as long as Ryuu's forearm, Deathstalker Scorpions about three-quarter their size, Fat Tail scorpions the same size as the Emperors, the only difference being their much smaller and sharper claws, and Red Scorpions about the same size as the Deathstalkers. As they looked around at the bugs, the telltale rattle of a most likely gigantic snake echoed through the cavern.

"Put that out, right now," Ryuu said.

"If I do that, we can't see them," Tayuya said.

"If you don't, we die," Ryuu said. "It's attracting them."

Tayuya focused on the front line, and sure enough, they were slowly inching their way forward. She dropped it, stomping on it and using chakra to put it out. Darkness filled the cavern instantly. Ryuu watched the creatures, barely darker shadows against a black background, as they stood motionless.

"Shouldn't we fly out of here?" Tayuya asked.

"If we move, they attack," Ryuu said.

"Aren't you a master of the Body Flicker Technique?" Tayuya asked.

"Tayuya, just shut up and trust me here," Ryuu said. "Orochimaru had most of these types of insects in the hideout I was in. I preferred fighting them over killing people, but they were...well. I fought in the dark, except for one single shaft of it, and any light I made attracted them. They wouldn't go into that one shaft of light, though, only gather around it. So long as I didn't move."

"So we're stuck?" Tayuya asked.

"Yomo is on his way to get us help," Ryuu said.

"From who?" Tayuya asked.

"The first people he finds," Ryuu said.

"So we wait?" Fu asked.

"We wait," Ryuu nodded. "Be ready though. As soon as someone else shows up to help, they'll have to stir the insects up."

"Okay," Fu said.

"We're doomed," Tayuya said.

"Indeed!" a voice shouted from somewhere in the darkness, Ryuu swearing loudly. "I'm so glad my Antlion was able to bate you down here."

"Mhao," Ryuu growled. "So _that's_ how Orochimaru got his hands on these things."

"That's right," Mhao said. "And I had to work long and hard to train them to act as you described. You're welcome. Of course, I could set things off in an instant if I wanted."

"And then you'd be in the same boat," Ryuu said. "I gotta say, though, ambushing me with giant trained bugs. That's pretty creative. I have to give credit where credit is due."

"We can't stay here," Tayuya said. "Once the sun begins to set, we're dead."

"You're right," Ryuu nodded. "However, we can't leave Mhao alive."

"Of course we can't," Tayuya grumbled. "Where the hell is that fucking crow?"

Just then, Yomo cawed loudly above them, circling. They all looked up just as Sakura, Ino, Choji, Neji, Lee, Tenten, Shira, Shira's two teammates, Ameno, and Ameno's teammates all arrived.

"Why are you just standing there?" Sakura shouted.

"They're surrounded," Neji said, Byakugan active and eyes wide with shock.

"Yeah," Shira's shorter teammate agreed.

She had orange hair in a pair of pigtails, orange eyes that were currently freakishly dilated, and wore a mesh belly shirt under a brown flak that also left her midriff exposed, and a pair of jean short shorts. The other teammate had blonde hair in a very bushy and messy ponytail, a pair of folding fans, and a maroon dress with mesh at the top for shoulders and sleeves.

"By what?" Shiro's other teammate asked.

"Bugs," the shorter said. "Sen, you'll have to stay here. Genjutsu doesn't work on them."

"Don't come down here!" Ryuu shouted. "Any movement will make them attack."

"Well then what do you want us to do?" Ino demanded. "Watch you die?"

"Neji, Mhao is down here somewhere," Ryuu said, Neji staring at him before nodding.

"Understood," Neji nodded. "Tenten, you, Sen, and Shishio will cover them from up here. Ino, you help them aim."

"I just said don't come down here!" Ryuu shouted.

"Koji," Ameno said, looking to her blonde teammate. "You stay with me as much as you can."

"Understood," Koji nodded, looking to the other teammate. "Flood the place Shishio."

Ryuu growled in annoyance just as blue fire exploded into existence a long, long way away within the cavern. Then, a second bonfire. Then a third. More began to appear around the edges of the cavern, filling the cavern rapidly with blue light, making it almost as bright as broad daylight. Each bonfire had a Mhao in them, and also spread throughout the cavern were other Homunculi. Ryuu's jaw fell. There were dozens. And all of them were strong.

"Oh," Ryuu breathed. "Okay. You can come down now! Close range skilled fighters only!"

"Do it now!" Koji said.

"Sand Formation, Shisa!" Shishio shouted.

Instantly, sand from both above ground, below ground, and around Ryuu and the others exploded into movement, forming lion glowing with chakra about the same size as Akamaru. All of the lions charged instantly, but so didn't the insects. Ryuu swore as he deflected a stinger with his tanto, streaming chakra along his trench knife and slashing the tail, removing it. Then, he spun, ducking as an ant's jaws snapped closed over him. He darted forward, splitting its underside open with his tanto then leapt onto its back and into the air, extending his wings. A moment later, Fu was by his side, hurling Tayuya out of the pit.

"How do we-" she stopped as a spider leapt off of the ground at them.

Ryuu exhaled a Vacuum Blade onto his tanto and shot forward, splitting it in half and allowing it to crash to the ground. "Fight!"

Then, Sakura crashed down on one of the desert's native scorpions that had three stingers and were about the size of the Hidden Leaf Village's Academy, the scorpion's front half exploding. Next, Choji and Koji fell through the hole, Koji with a hammer made of sandstone formed around his right fist, and a shield around his left. He smashed the hammer down on one of the ants while blocking a stinger for Choji, who used both of his expanded fists to crush a pair of spiders. Ameno landed behind Koji instantly, Koji ducking as several ants charged him and a jumping spider fell toward him, only for Ameno to spin, a pair of water praying mantis arms to form over her hands and outward, chakra streaming through them and allowing her to shred the ants as Lee and Shira each planted a kick into the spider, hurling it.

Ryuu turned, looking around until he spotted the snake. It was massive, nearly as big as Orochimaru could summon. He shot forward, inhaling as he neared it. It lunged as he pulled up short, exhaling a fireball into its mouth. The fireball exploded, splattering its head all over. Then, Ryuu shot to the ground, avoiding several jumping spiders. As soon as he landed, he slashed a pair of ants, Sharingan flashing before he began to move. He streaked forward, splitting a pair of ants before jumping, planting his feet into another and sending it blasting through more insects, several being ripped apart by the force. He spun, sashing a spider across the face as it lunged at him, making it fly to the side, blocking a scorpion's stinger instead. Then, Ryuu looked up as a pair of Homunculi leapt at him, one with a long braid and a white cloak wielding a kusarigama and the other with hair just past his shoulders and messy, not unlike Ryuu's own hair, and a white tee-shirt and pants. Ryuu huffed, slashing and sending an arc of flame out, blasting both and igniting them, hurling them backward into the sea of bug. He spun, sending an arc of flames tearing through the bugs before it exploded, sending numerous flying.

As soon as he had, he spun, slashing a scorpion's stinger aside, letting it stab into the ground before streaking forward, tossing the tanto into the air and forming a Repulsion Seal on his fist, drilling a punch into the scorpion. The entire insect exploded, sending its guts and pieces of its body flying. Then, Ryuu turned, catching his tanto in time to block another stinger. Before he could kill that scorpion as well, Koji crashed down on its back, driving a sandstone blade down into it. Ryuu shoved the stinger away and spun, exhaling air bullets into the swarm of insects, killing multiple before streaking forward, slashing his way through half a dozen before leaping over a scorpion's claws. He flipped, landing on its back and driving his Vacuum Blade into it, the scorpion collapsing, its tails crashing down on several ants. Ryuu ripped the blade free of the scorpion as one of Mhao landed before him, grinning. Then, the rest of the Mhaos landed around him. All of them had short messy hair now, as opposed to their usual long hair, and had gotten rid of the forehead protectors.

"Let's finish this, shall we?" Mhao asked.

"Be careful what you ask for," Ryuu snarled, doing a quick head count.

A total of twelve Mhaos. Mhao grinned, the one in front taking a step forward. Then, Ryuu was in front of him, slashing his throat before moving on to the next, and the next. After the third, he stopped, all three bodies dropping before the others charged. Ryuu ducked under one sword and flipped, kicking that Mhao away before blocking three swords. He spun, slashing them with his trench knife, all three staggering backward and holding their intestines in with one hand. Ryuu slashed, an arc of flame exploding against the three and killing them, lighting a fourth on fire before Ryuu spun, ducking under three swords as they stabbed at him. Instantly, a fourth Mhao fell at him from above. Ryuu stabbed his tanto into the scorpion and formed hand seals rapidly.

"Fire Style, Phoenix Rising!" Ryuu said, grabbing his tanto as he exploded skyward, flames rolling of of his entire body.

His tanto's blade met Mhao's sword and and explosion shook the cavern, Mhao flying away, charred and with the broken remains of his sword embedded in his face. Ryuu turned back to the three that had stabbed at him and they leapt at him. He flew down at them, knocking their swords aside before appearing behind them, their heads rolling backward. The last Mhao began to clap.

"Well done," Mhao smiled. "Impressive. You're even better than I remember. However."

He raised a hand and the other Mhaos transformed into blue flames flying to his hand before encasing his body. He grinned wickedly as his muscles grew and he gained a foot. Then, he roared, slashing his sword and sending an arc of blue flames flashing past Ryuu, exploding through the insects and slaughtering several dozen.

"Not bad," Ryuu said. "You're actually strong now."

Mhao grinned, Ryuu streaking into the air and out of the cavern. A moment later, Mhao followed, flames exploding out of his feet.

* * *

Fu flipped, splitting a spider's head in half then spun, swiping a hand and sending Wind Chakra surging through the closest insects. As she did, Sakura leapt over her, drilling a punch into an ant, the ground exploding as her fist reached it, sending insects flying. Tenten sent weapons raining down into the insects as they struggled to recover and Choji rolled past, flattening half a dozen ants before stopping just short of a scorpion. Before it could stab him, Koji blocked one of its stingers, Shira and Lee both kicking the other two down into its own back. Then, they kicked off of each other's foot, flipping and crashing down on two more, killing them.

Koji spun, slashing an ant before his sword turned into a hammer and he jumped, spinning as he fell and hit a spider in midair before the spider and hammer both crashed into a Fat Tail Scorpion, the impact shattering the ground and flattening the scorpion and spider. A spider lunged at him but Ameno's mantis arm slashed it into the air before a sand lion crashed into it, throwing it away. A Homunculus leapt at them, swinging a massive axe, only for Fu to slam a foot into tits abdomen, launching it backward into a second, both crashing down in front of a scorpion who stung both instantly. Fu spun, planting her fist into an Ant's face before flexing her palm, sending a blast of Wind Styler chakra through her palm, turning the ant into a projectile that exploded into a tornado against a tarantula, ripping several ants and the spider apart before fading.

"This is getting exhausting!" Sakura shouted, drilling a punch into a scorpion and sending it blasting through the insects behind it.

"Agreed," Choji nodded, ripping a chunk of ground free and sending it plowing through the insects.

"Bear with it!" Fu said, inhaling and forming hand seals. "Wind Style, Pressure Damage!"

The blast drilled its way through a spider and three ants before exploding against a scorpion, clearing a wide area. Lee landed in it instantly, inhaling before opening the Third Inner Gate, then blasted off into the insects, opening the fourth and fifth gates as well. On the opposite side, Shira had yellowish energy flying off of him, his own skin darkened like Lee's and his muscles bulging.

Fu flipped over a stinger, drawing a kunai and driving it down into the scorpion before flying up to the tail, grabbing it and spinning, swinging the scorpion around, then smashing it down on another. Two spiders leapt at her and she held her hands out, Wind Style Chakra exploding into existence, raging around her in a sphere, tearing them both apart. As soon as she let the sphere fade, she formed several hand seals.

"Wind Style, Ripping Cyclone!" Fu shouted, a pair of massive tornados of razor-sharp Wind Style Chakra began to tear through the insects.

The others began to hurl the insects near them into the air toward the tornados, allowing them to be dragged in and ripped apart. Finally, Fu let the jutsu end, wiping a bit of sweat from her forehead before pulling her fist back, glowing blue Wind Chakra forming around her fist like a gauntlet before she shot downward, fist blasting down on a scorpion, the ground exploding and the Wind Style Chakra exploding outward as small arcs of wind chakra, shredding more insects.

* * *

Ryuu flipped over Mhao's sword, slashing at him only for Mhao to flip out of the way, slashing at him again. Ryuu blocked the sword, shoving it upward before drilling his fist into Mhao's face. Mhao flew backward before flipping, slashing and sending an arc of flame at Ryuu. Ryuu sent one of his own back, then vanished, reappearing behind Mhao, who spun, slashing at him, only for his blade to pass through Ryuu, who was flickering. Ryuu smirked, more Ryuu's spreading out from him, all of them flickering. Mhao smirked as the closest one through a pun, Mhao making no move to block or dodge it. As a result, the fist drilled into Mhao's abdomen and sent him flying. Mhao flipped, roaring in rage and streaking forward, slashing at one of the Ryuu's, only for the sword to pass through him, the other three slashing at him. Mhao spun, blocking the slashes before all three flipped, kicking him in the face. He flew downward, blasting into the ground before slashing, sending a wall of flames exploding into the sky. Ryuu appeared beside him, solid once again, only to slam a fist with a Repulsion Seal into Mhao's side, sending him exploding into the air.

Mhao flipped, forming hand seals, Ryuu forming his own.

"Fire Style, Uroboros!" Both shouted, A massive blue fire snake exploding off of Mhao's body as Ryuu exhaled an equally massive normal-colored one.

They both shot through the air at each other and crashed into each other, combining into a red and blue sphere of fire. Then, the fireball exploded outward just before Ryuu and Mhao reached it, their blades crashing into each other's yet again. Both began to slash and block rapidly, sparks and explosions of normal and blue fire exploding off of the impacts of their blades rapidly. Finally, Mhao's sword slipped past Ryuu's only to pass through a flickering Ryuu before that one vanished altogether and another planted his feet in Mhao's back, sending him crashing to the ground. Mhao rolled over, forming hand seals.

"Fire Style, Searing Migraine!" Mhao shouted.

"Fire Style, Majestic Destroyer Flame!" Ryuu shouted, exhaling the much, much larger and more powerful jutsu.

Mhao shouted in surprise as his flames were almost instantly overpowered and Ryuu's flooded across the ground for hundreds of meters. Mhao had leapt over it and roared, flying at Ryuu again, sword raised. Ryuu narrowed his eyes.

"I've had enough of you," Ryuu snarled. "I'll be by your hideout soon to put an end to you."

Mhao roared in rage, slashing at Ryuu. Ryuu swung his tanto around and then over his shoulder, a Vacuum Blade forming as he did before he slashed downward at Mhao. His Vacuum Blade split Mhao's sword blade down the center, bending the halves outward before the blade also split Mhao down the center. Mhao passed through Ryuu as Ryuu began to flicker, then stopped, looking back as Ryuu looked back at him and vanished. Then, Mhao's halves fell apart.

* * *

Fu punted a scorpion she had just killed, sending it rolling through the insects, its body breaking apart as it did. Then, before she could kill anything else, she blinked and found a ring of Ryuus standing shoulder to shoulder around her and the others, every single insect inside of the circle suddenly dead. All of the Ryuus were flickering and formed the same set of hand seals.

"Fire Style, Majestic Destroyer Flame!" they all shouted, exhaling a massive sea of flames into the cavern.

The moment they did, however, crow clones of Ryuu grabbed everyone who couldn't fly, flying them out before the flickering Ryuus all faded, leaving the real one beside Fu.

"Let's go," Ryuu said.

Fu nodded and they flew into the air as the fire began to surge back toward the empty space. They got out of the hole just in time for Ryuu to grab Fu and use the Body Flicker Technique to appear off to the side, flames exploding out of the hole for a moment before fading, leaving a ring of glass around the hole. Smoke curled out of the hole for a few minutes before fading. Fu flew back down, looking into the hole experimentally and seeing that the entire inside had been turned into glass, and all of the insects had been incinerated.

"Why didn't you start with that!?" Sakura demanded.

"I needed someone to keep them busy," Ryuu said. "Besides, I was under orders not to show my true power."

Sakura sighed and nodded. "Well, now that that's over, I suppose we should get back to the exams."

"Yeah," Ryuu said, his clones setting the others down and dispersing into crows, who then vanished in a flurry of black feathers. "Fu, Tayuya, let's go."

Both nodded as Ryuu and Fu landed. They began to walk away only for Ryuu to fall to his knees, staring down at his side where there was a scratch. He held a hand to it, then pulled it away at the purple-tinted blood coating his hand.

"Shit," Ryuu groaned. "I was close, too."

"Ryuu!" Fu gasped, catching him as he began to fall.

Ameno ran over instantly, taking him and laying him out before opening her water bottle and forming hand seals. "Hold him down." She began to make hand seals as Fu and Tayuya complied. "Medical Water Style, Water Mosquito."

A shrill buzzing filled the air as a cloud of tiny mosquitoes made of water flooded out of her water bottle, swarming around in the air before flying down in a spiraling funnel. Fu and Tayuya doubled the pressure as they realized what was about to happen. Then, the mosquitoes reached Ryuu's wounds and began to flood his veins, shoving their way into his body as Ryuu screamed in agony, thrashing, only for Sakura, Shiro, and Lee to help hold him down.

Finally, the mosquitoes began to return to the surface, leaving his body black, rather than the clear water they had been. They flew away from his body and collapsed. Ameno didn't look pleased, through.

"There's so much!" Ameno breathed. "I need more water!"

Everyone else ran over, opening their bottles, Ameno turning all of the water into mosquitoes, all of which returned to burrowing through Ryuu's veins. Ryuu began to scream again, but they managed to keep him held down. More and more mosquitoes began to return from inside of Ryuu, taking more and more venom with them as they went.

"How much venom did those scorpions have?" Sakura asked as Ameno shook her head.

Through the pain, Ryuu managed to form the seal of confrontation, a scroll appearing out of a seal on his right forearm, landing and unrolling itself before he unsealed that too, producing a dozen water bottles. Ameno used those as well, and soon Ryuu was screaming and thrashing anew. Finally, the last of the poison was extracted and Ameno switched hand seals, Ryuu's body glowing green for a moment.

"I repaired the damage the mosquitoes did using the last of them," Ameno said. "I'll take care of the wound now."

She reached over, hands glowing green as his wound slowly sealed itself. Finally, she was finished and they all let up on Ryuu, who groaned.

"I am never letting you cure my poison again," Ryuu grumbled, trying to move only for his entire body to protest.

"Easy," Ameno said. "You're going to be weak from the damage the poison already did, as well from the after effects of that jutsu."

Ryuu nodded, Fu helping him stand. Tayuya retrieved his scroll and slid it into her pouch before looking around.

"We need water," Tayuya said.

"There's an oasis this way," Ameno said.

She turned, walking away and they all followed her, for lack of a better idea.

* * *

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	84. Chapter 84

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Threat

Ryuu watched the sand raging around them. They had all finished filling their water less than thirty seconds before the sandstorm that had appeared out of nowhere hit them, Yomo burrowing into Ryuu's flak just before it did. They had been standing in a group stretching no more than three yards across, and yet Ryuu, who had been near the middle, could barely see the sides. He had reacted to the storm first, using a basic yet less known barrier that formed a dome ten meters across from the user and kept out inclement weather, like sandstorms.

"This sandstorm's awful," Ameno said. "Weren't they supposed to be watching for this kind of thing?"

"How did they miss it?" Koji asked.

"Maybe someone had a barrier up blocking their senses," Ryuu said.

"Yeah but you would think _we'd_ have seen it coming," Lee said.

"We were a little busy with that fight," Neji said. "But one the way here, you're right, it would have been hard to miss a storm this big."

"There's always the possibility of it being someone's jutsu," Shiro said.

"He's right," Ryuu said. "Ameno, which way's the tower?"

"I don't know," Ameno said. "There's no way to tell in this storm."

Just then, Fu's head snapped around, her eyes narrowing.

"What is it?" Ryuu asked.

"Someone's in trouble," Fu said.

"Go," Ryuu said. "Carefully."

Fu nodded, taking of instantly and Ryuu turned, walking after her, the others following, if only to avoid the sandstorm. Finally, they stopped as they reached a massive wall of sand.

Ryuu sighed, activating his Sharingan and kneeling. "Earth Style, Mobile Core!"

The ground dropped below them, lowering them a hundred feet, out of the sandstorm. Ryuu let his barrier fade and extended his wings, flying out of the pit, then over the sand wall, finding Fu and Gaara talking, Matsuri and her team in the middle of being healed by Fu through the use of her webbing. Ryuu landed beside Fu and Gaara turned to him.

"Hello again, Ryuu," Gaara said.

"Good to see you," Ryuu said.

"So you finally learned to fly?" Gaara asked. "Good for you."

"Thanks," Ryuu smiled.

Just then, Matsuri began to stir and Ryuu glanced at her. When he turned back to Gaara, Gaara was gone. He sighed, turning to Matsuri and the others as they stood.

"Are you guys alright?" Fu asked.

"Yes," Matsuri nodded. "Thanks to you."

"Do you have both of your scrolls?" Fu asked.

"No, we only have the heaven scroll," Matsuri said.

Fu looked to Ryuu and he sighed, smiling and nodded. Fu smiled as well, holding out their Earth Scroll. "Here, you can have our Earth Scroll. We can get another one easily."

"Really?" Matsuri's female teammate gasped. "Thank you! You're a life saver!"

"Wait Yukata," Matsuri said, standing. "We can't accept that. Lord Gaara has taught us to break down barriers, those we set for ourselves and those that others set for us, with our own strength. If we accepted that scroll, we wouldn't be able to honestly claim that we fulfilled the conditions of the second exam. Thank you for the offer, and thank you for saving our lives, but we have to get one with our own strength, and using our own power."

"Right," Fu nodded. "Got it."

She put the scroll away and Ryuu sighed, sitting down heavily against the sand wall. Fu knelt next to him worriedly, but he simply smiled.

"Still tired and sore from the poison," Ryuu said. "I'll be alright."

Fu nodded, sitting beside him, leaning on his shoulder.

"Poison?" Matsuri asked. "Do you need treatment?"

Ryuu chuckled, holding his hand up. "No no. Ameno already took care of the poison. The damage is all that's bothering me. And my own Medical Ninjutsu is slowly tending to that."

"All on it's own?" Matsuri asked.

"Sort of," Ryuu smiled. "After being held prisoner so long, it became sort of like...a muscle reflex, I guess. I just kind of do it without having to think about it."

Matsuri nodded. They sat in silence for a while, the sandstorm weakening. Then, finally, it faded altogether. Ryuu sighed, Matsuri and her team turning and running up Gaara's sand wall, then heading toward the tower again. Ryuu sighed, slowly pushing himself up, Fu helping him up. As he regained his feet, Gaara stepped into view from off to the side.

"Matsuri thinks awful highly of you Gaara," Ryuu smiled. "Don't let her down."

"I won't," Gaara said. "You two should regroup with your other teammate. The second round will be continuing soon."

Ryuu nodded and began to walk back toward the others with Fu. Before they got far, Gaara flew overhead on a cloud of sand. Ryuu smirked, shaking his head.

"I wonder how far Tayuya is," Ryuu said.

"She'll probably meet us halfway," Fu smiled, trying to ignore the fact that Ryuu was starting to breathe harder from not resting and that they were barely walking with any sort of speed now.

"I'm about to drop, aren't I?" Ryuu asked, sighing. "I hope there aren't any semifinals this time."

"At least you have no broken ribs," Fu said.

Ryuu chuckled. "True. That sucked."

Fu nodded, smiling before suddenly freezing, entire body going rigid before she turned. "Gaara's in trouble!"

"Let's go!" Ryuu growled.

Fu grabbed him, extending her wings and taking off, flying after Gaara rapidly. After a minute, they found him, a glowing purple chain with red Tailed Beast Chakra surging along it sticking into his abdomen, then reaching from there to a bald man with a scar reaching from the right side of his nose across his face to his left ear, no shirt, the chain extending from the skin on his right shoulder, a black robe with white pants, a bracelet of beads on each wrist, and a lute in his hands that he was strumming at. Fu set Ryuu down beside Gaara and turned to him just as a green mass began to grow out of his abdomen. Fu reached for the chain, but Gaara caught her hand.

"Don't touch it," Gaara said, fighting to hold Shukaku's chakra back. "It'll...drain your chakra too."

Ryuu formed a Wind Rapier and slashed the chain, only for the jutsu to shatter against the chain. He shook his head, forming a Chidori but Gaara caught his hand.

"Don't waist...your energy," Gaara said.

Just then, Ryuu heard the rhythm of the man's strumming change and turned. A glowing tendril of dark energy was flying toward them, heading for Fu. He shoved her out of the way as the chakra transformed into a chain and shot past. Fu leapt into the air, extending her wings, only for the chain to suddenly whip around, driving itself into the small of her back, Fu screaming in pain as it did and crashing to the ground.

Fu!" Ryuu shouted, dropping beside her and gritting his teeth, grabbing the chain.

Electricity began to course through him instantly as he began to try to pull the chain free, only for it to pull tight between Fu and the bald man. Then, Ryuu flew backward, thrown by the jutsu and crashing down hard.

"Fu...no," he tried to stand but his legs gave out.

Fu screamed again as the chain gave a particularly nasty jerk before forming the Seal of Confrontation. "Ninja Art, Cocoon!" She extended her wings, chakra flowing out of them and then around herself and Gaara before forming into a green cocoon, webbing attaching it to the ground.

Ryuu stared at the chains, seeing they had all but halted, though Tailed Beast chakra was still flowing through them slowly. At the very least, Fu had bought them time. He pushed himself up, panting and holding his abdomen, which throbbed agonizingly. He began to walk forward, barely staying on his feet. Just as his legs gave out, Neji caught him, Lee and Tenten appearing on either side of him, Matsuri running toward them.

"Neji, Lee, Tenten," Ryuu said. "Good. See the guy with the lute? He's trying to steal Fu and Gaara's Tailed Beasts. Stop him."

Lee nodded, sprinting at the man as Neji set Ryuu on the ground. Ryuu groaned, clutching at his sides.

"Are you okay?" Tenten asked.

"No," Ryuu said. "The pain's getting worse the more I try to move."

Neji nodded as Tayuya arrived.

"Who's that guy?" Tayuya asked.

"Long story short, he's trying to kill Gaara and Fu," Neji said. "Go with Lee and Tenten and try to distract him by attacking him from behind. Matsuri, you too."

They nodded and ran off and Ryuu forced himself up, Neji taking his arm over his shoulder and running to the cocoon. As they reached it, Ryuu drew his tanto, channeling chakra through the blade and cutting the cocoon open. Neji helped him through and Ryuu collapsed again, Fu dropping instantly, trying to use Medical Ninjutsu to help him with the pain.

"Neji, use Gentle Fist to shut down the chakra point the chains attached to," Ryuu said.

"Right," Neji nodded, activating his Gentle Fist. "Lord Gaara, I'll start with you."

Gaara nodded, turning toward him. Neji stepped forward, jabbing at Gaara's chakra point, only for the Tailed Beast Chakra to block his strike and shove him back.

"What happened?" Gaara asked.

"I think the Tailed Beast Chakra is so dense that it's blocking me," Neji said.

"Try again," Ryuu said, pushing himself up.

Neji nodded and tried again, succeeding this time, the Tailed Beast chakra stopping. He turned to Fu, who turned away, and Neji stopped the flow of her Tailed Beast chakra as well. Suddenly, both chains broke free, retracting from the cocoon. Fu sighed, leaning against Ryuu, who wrapped an arm around her, and sighed. She raised a hand, reabsorbing the cocoon before they all looked to the man, seeing the chains flailing around in the air. Then, the chains turned into black seal script, two more appearing behind the man. The man was inside of a barrier, but after a moment, the chains wrapped around it, squeezing until the barrier exploded. Then, the chains wrapped around the man, binding him, making him fall down the rock he was seated up, screaming in pain.

"May I ask you a favor, Neji?" Gaara asked. "Pease spare him."

"Of course," Neji nodded, walking forward.

A few moments and dozens of jabs later, the strings of seal script broke and faded, freeing the man. However, the damage was done and the man was crashing.

"We can't save him," Neji said. "Get him to a medical team!"

"Right," Tenten nodded, she and Tayuya picking him up.

"I thank you, Neji," Gaara said. "I never thought _you'd_ rescue me."

"So are both of you alright now?" Lee asked.

"Yes," Fu smiled, one hand resting on Ryuu's forearms as he held her from behind, face tucked into her shoulder. "We're fine thanks to all of you."

"Lord Gaara!" Matsuri shouted, running over. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Yes, I'm fine," Gaara smiled.

"You all did very well," Neji said, Gaara nodding in agreement.

"Thank you all," Fu smiled, then turned in Ryuu's arms, kissing him before resting her head on his shoulder.

After a few more minutes, Gaara left and Fu extended her wings, flying Ryuu and Tayuya to the tower finally.

* * *

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	85. Chapter 85

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Destroyed

Ryuu sighed as the pain from the poison's damage finally faded. It wasn't complete. His entire body was still almost entirely lame, and moving faster than a walk hurt, but for the time being he was okay. In other news, Gaara had made the announcement that the third part of the exams had been canceled, calling it 'unnecessary' because everyone present knew that the most important thing for a shinobi was friendship. He said that each village would receive a detailed report about each team's performance, and that would decide whether they were promoted or not.

"You ready to head home?" Fu asked.

"Yeah," Ryuu nodded. "I don't think we'll make it in a day this time, though."

"Probably not, no," Fu smiled, nodding.

"Thank God," Tayuya groaned.

Ryuu laughed and they headed out, moving slower than the others, on account of Ryuu. After several hours longer than necessary, they reached the edge of the desert, stopping in the trees to rest while Ryuu recovered a little. Then, they continued. After a bit, Yomo cawed above them and Ryuu's eyes narrowed. Fu glanced at him and he nodded, the three of them beginning to run full speed instantly, Yomo flying over them, again cawing. Ryuu glanced back, Sharingan active. He could sense the two bonfire chakras behind them. They were closing in rapidly. And Ryuu was beginning to slow again.

"Fu, take Tayuya and go get help," Ryuu said.

"We've been over this," Fu said. "None of us are staying behind to get the other away safely."

"Fu," Ryuu said, tears running down his cheeks. "It's them. We can't win this without help. Please go."

"I'm not leaving you!" Fu said. "You can't fight them alone! You can barely run!"

"I'll go," Tayuya said. "I'll get help and come back."

"Please hurry," Fu said.

Tayuya nodded and vanished, using the Body Flicker Technique to try to reach the others faster. Just as she did, Fu and Ryuu landed on a cliff, stopping as two men landed on either side of them. One had grey hair slicked back with his cloak open and a scratched out Hidden Grass forehead protector around his neck, a pendant hanging from below it consisting of a triangle inside of a circle. On his back was a large red scythe with three blades and a black cable attached to the base of its shaft then running up the man's right sleeve. The other was taller and had a grey hood over his hair with a scratched out Takigakure headband on the front, the backing with a part of it reaching up the front of his hood in a triangle. He had blood red sclerae and mint-colored irises, and a black cloth mask over the lower half of his face.

"Say Mister, aren't you from the Hidden Waterfall?" Fu asked, looking to the taller man. "Yeah, I know you. After you failed to assassinate the Hokage, you stole the hearts of the Village Elders and escaped! You're Kakuzu!"

"He stole their hearts?" Ryuu asked.

"He wields a Forbidden Jutsu known as Earth Grudge," Fu said. "It allows him to control black cords within his body, making him something like a living mass of those cords, and he can have up to five hearts, allowing him to wield the five Chakra Natures."

"Damn, she's got you down to a T," the other one said. "I'm Hidan, by the way. I follow Lord Jashin's will."

"Who?" Ryuu asked.

"You'll find out," Hidan smirked, drawing his scythe.

Ryuu growled in annoyance and drew his tanto and trench knife. He and Fu both released their Gravity Seals instantly, both vanishing and Ryuu reappearing around the two rapidly, slashing and sending arcs of flame flying at them. Kakuzu leapt over them and Hidan laughed as they hit him, exploding. As the smoke cleared, it revealed him to still be standing, his burns healing and his cloak ruined above the waist. Hidan shot forward, reaching Ryuu just as Ryuu stopped, his scythe crashing into Ryuu's tanto. Ryuu shoved it upward before beginning to flicker, the scythe passing through him. He jumped, two more appearing around Hidan as all three slammed a foot under Hidan's jaw, sending him flying into the air. As soon as he was airborne, Fu blasted into him from below, sending him flying before beginning to reappear wherever he was heading, sending him bouncing through the air.

Ryuu turned to Kakuzu in time for his trench knife to block Kakuzu's dark brown and completely solid fist. Ryuu shoved it away, beginning to flicker as five more stepped out of him, only for Kakuzu to spun in a blur, his fist crashing into Ryuu and sending him flying. Ryuu crashed to the ground and flipped, coughing up blood before he landed on his feet, streaking forward again. Kakuzu sped forward, his fist meeting Ryuu's trench knife before Ryuu slashed his tanto, the blade and arc of flame both hitting nothing but an empty Akatsuki cloak.

"You're not the only one capable of using the Body Flicker Technique," Kakuzu said, suddenly behind Ryuu.

Ryuu began to turn, but Kakuzu's fist blasted into him from below, sending him hurtling away. Ryuu crashed into the face of another cliff before Fu crashed into it beside him. Both fell back to the ground and looked at each other.

"I guess we have no choice," Fu said, boiling red chakra beginning to flood off of her. "I'll try not to hurt you."

"I can handle it," Ryuu said, standing and beginning to flicker, two dozen more flashing out of him and speeding toward Kakuzu.

As they neared him, four bulging masses of black cords with a mask each shot out of his back, forming themselves bodies and flying at the Ryuus. Each opened their mouths, firing a blast of each Chakra Nature except Earth at them. Ryuu flipped over a stream of flame then slid under a wall of wind blades. Then, he flipped into the air and slammed a kick into the Water Style mask and shattering it just before a bolt of lightning blasted into his chest, hurling him backward into the cliff again. He groaned, slowly pushing himself up as Kakuzu sped forward. Kakuzu slammed a fist into Ryuu's gut, blasting him into the cliff and cratering the cliff before slamming several more punches into Ryuu, making him shout in agony. Instantly, a creature made of blood red chakra standing on all fours with a pair of wings and a long thin tail extending behind them appeared beside Kakuzu, slamming both fists and both feet into him and sending him hurtling away.

As the creature caught Ryuu and began to heal his shattered bones, Ryuu realized that it was Fu using her Tailed Beast Chakra. Suddenly, Hidan appeared over Fu, slashing downward with the scythe, only for Fu to spin, knocking the scythe blades away with her hand and slam a fist into his chest, caving in his ribs. Hidan screamed in agony as he shot backward. Ryuu formed a Wind Rapier, forcing himself up before forming his wings so that his legs wouldn't have to support him. Then, Hidan stood, vomiting blood onto the ground before drawing the same symbol as his pendent was on the ground with the blood before holding his scythe up. Ryuu's Sharingan noticed a drop of blood on one of the blades and flicked to Fu's hand, where there was a tiny slit in the chakra coating her body before it sealed. Hidan licked the blood off of his scythe and Ryuu grimaced. A psychopath. He had suspected so since the beginning of the fight, but now he was sure. However, as he watched, Hidan began to change. His skin turned black with white markings looking like a skeleton.

"Thank you for making my job easy," Hidan grinned.

He pilled a small metal cylinder out of a pocket in his cloak's lower half, swinging it. As he did, several more cylinders suddenly extended from it, ending in a sharp point. Ryuu prepared himself to catch the spear, but instead, Hidan drove it through his own abdomen, grinning as blood ran down his chin. Then, Ryuu's blood ran cold as Fu's Tailed Beast Chakra Cloak vanished and she coughed, blood flying out of her mouth and blood running out of a hole suddenly in her abdomen. Ryuu didn't understand. He had stabbed himself, so there was no way Fu was wounded in the exact same spot with the exact same kind of wound. Ryuu simply couldn't understand. But understanding or not, as Hidan raised the spear again, Ryuu shot forward, catching the spear and tackling Hidan out of the seal before planting both feet in his chest, hurling him away. Then, he flipped, narrowly avoiding Kakuzu's fist, which shattered the ground. Ryuu flipped, growling in rage.

"Enough of this!" Ryuu snarled, forming a pair of Flame Swords and spinning, slashing at Kakuzu rapidly.

Kakuzu avoided every slash for several seconds before a bolt of lightning blasted into Ryuu's back, slamming him to the ground before Kakuzu hardened his foot, punting him. Ryuu crashed into the cliff and Kakuzu began to walk toward them, cracking his knuckles.

"Too easy," Kakuzu snarled.

Ryuu looked to Fu just as blood red chakra exploded off her, shooting into the sky. He looked up, seeing it form into a massive, armored rhino beetle with a long green tail, six wings extending from the base of the tail, and a pair of serrated blades for hands on its one set of arms.

"Chomei," Ryuu breathed.

Chomei roared loudly, the sound shaking the ground before giant spheres of red and blue chakra began to form into a massive purple sphere in front of its head, the purple sphere growing rapidly until it was almost as big as Chomei himself was. Chomei's head turned slightly and Ryuu knew he was worried about him.

"Do it," Ryuu said. "Kill them. Protect Fu."

Chomei turned back to the front, the purple sphere starting to shrink, compressing rapidly. Then, suddenly, it stopped, Chomei shrieking in agony. Ryuu extended his wings, flying up into the air and watching as Chomei shrieked again, cracks forming in the purple sphere, light spilling out. He looked down at the two Akatsuki members, seeing Hidan in a new symbol, a pair of new stab wounds in his torso and a sadistic grin on his face.

"Run Ryuu!" Chomei shouted as the sphere began to shine.

Ryuu turned blasting forward and grabbing Hidan as he passed, leaving the circle and impaling Hidan on a tree branch just before the sphere exploded. The blast sent Ryuu flying, bouncing along the ground, both legs snapping and his left arm going with it. Finally, Ryuu stopped himself with his wings, flying back toward the massive crater that had been formed. Fu was lying in the center of the crater now, Hidan and kakuzu both standing over it, Hidan with a chunk of the branch still through his chest. Ryuu shouted in rage as Kakuzu reached for Fu. Kakuzu turned toward him as Ryuu formed a Flame Sword, activating the Body Flicker Technique and flying straight for Kakuzu. He slashed at Kakuzu's throat, taking his head off completely before reaching for Fu. At the last second, a mass of black cords with the three remaining masks crashed down on the opposite side of Fu, all three masks firing. A massive blast of Fire, Wind, and Lightning chakra filled Ryuu's vision. Then, there was an all-encompassing agony before he found himself lying on the ground. He was on his back, staring up at storm clouds as rain pounded down around him. He looked to the side, seeing that Fu's necklace was clutched in his left hand, which he realized was almost healed, though it had stopped. He tried to stand, but his body failed to respond. He looked back up at the clouds as lightning flashed overhead, but he realized, he couldn't hear the thunder. Or the rain. Or his own breathing. He couldn't feel it either. He looked to his left again, seeing blood running down into the crater from below him. It was his. He knew that much. He must have been wounded somehow. He tried to look down at his body, but as he tried to look up again, his head suddenly felt as though it weighed a thousand pounds. And his vision was darkening. It began to blue before finally fading.

Oh well. He was sure Fu would be along to heal him soon. She had promised to always be there when he needed her, after all. She had promised.

* * *

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	86. Chapter 86

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

"White Zetsu."

" **Black Zetsu**."

* * *

Desperation

Ryuu's eyes creaked open, staring up at the dark inside of a cave, feeling like his eyes were burning, like he had stared at the sun too long. He didn't remember being in a cave. Maybe this was Hell. Fu would probably know where he was. He blinked, remembering pain, and light, and a giant bug telling him to run. He remembered Fu's burned and bloodied body, and fighting the Akatsuki. His eyes widened.

"Fu!" He shouted, sitting up, only to fall to the right.

He groaned, rolling onto his back, then looking down. His eyes widened. There were bandages wrapped around his torso, strapping his right arm, and some form of solid brown covered over his right side, hiding the arm from sight. He was in a bed, with the covers pulled up over him, so he threw them off, staring at his right leg. It was as white as snow, and shriveled, from above the bottom of his boxers. He lifted the waistband, and saw that the white continued under his bandages. He reached down and felt the leg, but it wasn't skin. It was smooth but solid. Like a really weird, really smooth stone, or really, really hard clay.

"Careful you don't make it fall off," a voice said beside him.

He turned, seeing a humanoid thing that looked like a bunch of tentacles or spikes of the same white substance as his new leg all twisted together into a humanoid body. The only feature besides the odd spiral design of the face was the one eyehole the spiral design was around.

"Who are you?" Ryuu asked.

"You can call me Tobi," the thing said, the tentacles unravelling, revealing himself to be hollow. "I'm made of what the right side of your body are. It's called Hashirama Cells, and because of it, you don't have to pee or poo anymore! You're welcome."

"I don't..." Ryuu stared at him before shaking his head. "Whatever. How long was I asleep?"

"You were asleep for three days," the thing said.

"Three days?" Ryuu blinked, staring at the floor. "So then..."

"I see you're awake," a deep voice beside him on the other side said.

Ryuu turned to look and stared at the orange mask shaped the same as Tobi's face, then at the black cloak with red clouds below it. Ryuu formed a Flame Sword and spun, slashing at the man, forcing him to jump backward.

"Get the fuck out of here," Ryuu snarled.

"I didn't kill your girlfriend," the man said.

"I don't care who you are, or what you say," Ryuu snarled. "You're Akatsuki, and if I ever see you again, I'll tear you apart."

"Come now, is that any way to speak to the man who saved you?" the man asked, a Sharingan shining from inside the mask's eyehole.

"I don't give a shit what you did!" Ryuu shouted. "Leave! Now!"

The man watched him for a moment before sighing. "Tobi, I leave you in charge of his rehabilitation."

"Yes sir!" Tobi said, saluting dramatically as the Akatsuki member turned and walked into the shadows, disappearing.

"Who was that?" Ryuu asked.

"Tobi," Tobi said.

"So who are you?" Ryuu asked.

"Tobi," Tobi said. "Pretty soon, you'll be Tobi too."

"Tell me the truth!" Ryuu shouted. "Who the hell was he!?"

Tobi was silent for a long while. "Madara Uchiha. Secret Leader of the Akatsuki."

"If Fu alive?" Ryuu asked.

"For now," Tobi said. "It takes three days to seal a Jinchuriki's Tailed Beast."

"Can you take me there," Ryuu growled.

"Yes," Tobi said. "But Madara will be mad."

"If you don't, I won't let you rehab me, and then he'll be mad," Ryuu said.

After remaining still and silent for a long moment, Tobi unravelled, shooting forward, Ryuu pulling back only to stop as Tobi closed around his body.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Ryuu growled.

"This way, you can use my body, since yours isn't working," Tobi said.

"Oh really?" Ryuu asked.

"Yeah," Tobi nodded.

Ryuu felt something stick to the back of his head and felt Tobi's Chakra trying to seep into him, pushing it out instantly, pushing his own chakra into Tobi instead.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Tobi asked. "No, don't do that! Stop it!"

Then, Ryuu tipped to the right, falling off the bed and to the ground. After a moment, he pushed himself up, finding that Tobi's right arm was working as if it were his own, now.

"Tobi, you still with me?" Ryuu asked.

"Yes," Tobi said, monotonously.

"Well, at least you're alive," Ryuu said. "Maybe broken, but alive. You're going to help me save Fu, alright? After all, we're friends."

"Yes," Tobi said. "We're friends."

Ryuu turned, looking around, finding the exit from the cave blocked by a boulder. "How do we get out of here?"

"I can travel through the ground using roots," Tobi said, monotonously. "It's called Mayfly. It's the same as the original version uses."

"Original?" Ryuu asked.

"White Zetsu," Tobi said. "I'm an imperfect clone."

Ryuu grit his teeth but calmed himself. "No," Ryuu said. "I'm saving Fu by my own strength. I'm also not giving you the chance to warn Zetsu about me going after her."

"I wouldn't do that," Zetsu said, a tiny bit of inflection starting to seep into his voice. "We're friends."

Ryuu nodded, walking over to the boulder and forming several hand seals. "Wind Style, Majestic Demolisher Flame!"

He exhaled a massive jet of flames that completely engulfed the boulder and instantly melted a trail through the center before exploding, the hole allowing the explosion outward, sending the boulder flying away from the cave. Ryuu walked out of it and looked around.

"Which way?" Ryuu asked.

Tobi's left arm snapped up, pointing.

"Thank you," Ryuu said, extending his wings.

"You're welcome," Tobi said.

Ryuu exploded off the ground, flying in the direction Tobi had pointed, Sharingan scanning the ground. As he flew, Tobi gave him small corrections in direction. Ryuu flew constantly, the moon slowly setting as the sun rose, making its way across the sky. Finally, Tobi pointed to a valley and Ryuu flew down, staring at the sealing tag on the front of the boulder. He looked around.

"Do you know where the other tags are?" Ryuu asked.

"There are four," Tobi said, the exact knowledge of where they were suddenly shining in Ryuu's brain, as though he had actually been there.

"What the hell was that?" Ryuu asked. "How do I remember?"

"Zetsu and his clones can transfer knowledge through contact, or by making contact with any trees or roots," Tobi said.

Ryuu nodded, and crouched, four flickering Ryuus taking off and heading to the tags. Then, as one, they ripped them off before Ryuu shot forward, slamming a fist into the boulder, shattering it. Inside the cave, there was a massive statue of a creature that looked mostly human with a spiked chest plate, both hands upward as if in prayer and shackles connecting them, a bald head with sharp teeth in its mouth, and nine eyes around its head. Eight were closed, but one was open partway and twitching, an iris mostly visible inside but wavering.

"What is that thing?" Ryuu asked, his one usable Sharingan flicking to the glowing, multi-colored silhouettes on the statues fingers, and the two actual people.

Hidan and Kakuzu. They were standing on two of the statue's fingers, and they, along with all of the silhouettes, were staring at Ryuu.

"Who the hell are you?" Hidan asked. "How'd you know how to get in here?"

"He's with me," Zetsu's silhouette said. "Why did you break in, though, instead of simply going through the floor?"

"Open your head," Ryuu snarled, Tobi complying.

"Oh shit, him again!?" Hidan shouted, grabbing his scythe. "I thought you killed him!"

"I blew half his body to kingdom come," Kakuzu said. "Apparently, he's as resilient as we are."

Ryuu glared at them, then looked to the center of the room, where blue fluid-like chakra was extending from the statue's mouth to a massive sphere of it around Fu, who looked to be in pain, boiling red Tailed Beast Chakra seeping out of her from her eyes and mouth.

"So, you managed to take control of that clone, did you?" Zetsu asked. "Impressive. Should I reinforce Kakuzu and Hidan?"

"Do it," own of the other silhouettes, who had purple rippled eyes, said.

Ryuu snarled angrily, eyes burning. He shot forward, Kakuzu landing in front of him. However, when Kakuzu moved to throw a punch, Ryuu found that he could see it coming this time. Kakuzu was apparently tired. He was telegraphing. Ryuu ducked under his punch, drilling his right palm into Kakuzu's gut.

"Fire Style, Flash Palm!" Ryuu shouted, an explosion shooting out of his palm and sending Kakuzu flying through the air, passing through the chakra stream and breaking it.

The other silhouettes all recoiled, some shouting in pain, some groaning, the one with purple eyes barely wincing. Then, the rest of the blue chakra vanished, Fu beginning to fall, Hidan leaping toward her. Ryuu appeared in front of him, slamming a palm strike into his chest and sending a pulse of chakra into him on instinct, wooden spikes exploding out of Hidan's body from Ryuu's palm, detaching from Ryuu as Hidan fell.

"He can use that jutsu!?" One of the silhouettes shouted.

Just then, Zetsu grew out of the ground as Ryuu caught Fu. Then, Ryuu inhaled.

"Fire Style, Majestic Destroyer Flame!" Ryuu shouted before exhaling, the flames instantly flooding the cavern, filling it completely and exploding out through the entrance, Ryuu appearing a distance from it.

Then, Ryuu activated the Body Flicker Technique, speeding away from the cave. He could see Zetsu's face every so often in a tree, so finally, he stopped, setting Fu down as Zetsu grew out of the ground.

" **You can't escape** ," Zetsu said. "What's up with your eyes?"

Ryuu smirked. He wanted to see what his eyes could do? Fine. Ryuu would happily show him. Ryuu crouched, roots exploding out of the ground around Zetsu before Ryuu shot forward, forming a Wind Rapier and severing the roots before appearing in front of Zetsu, stabbing him and looking into both Zetsus' eyes. A moment later, both were under a powerful Genjutsu and Ryuu was off, carrying Fu away from him yet again.

* * *

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	87. Chapter 87

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Home

Ryuu sighed as he landed in front of the village gate. Fu had yet to stir, and he was still wearing Tobi. On the bright side, they hadn't seen Zetsu since he had put him under a genjutsu a day ago. The chunin at the gate shouted for him to stop instantly and Tobi opened his head.

"Ryuu!?" Kotetsu shouted. "Jesus! You're alive! What the hell happened to you?"

Ryuu shook his head, walking past them before using the Body Flicker Technique to get to the Hokage's office. He carefully pushed the door open with his foot and Tsunade looked up at him from the report she had been reading, the other teams from the Chunin Exams standing there as well, staring at Ryuu and Fu in shock.

"You...you're alive?" Tayuya breathed. "You're alive!" She ran over, throwing her arms around Ryuu, sobbing before looking down at Fu, seeing the burns and the partially healed and bandaged stab wounds. "What happened?"

"I need to...put her down," Ryuu said, barely able to stay on his feet any longer, the effects of trying to do too much before rehab, even with Tobi attached to him, starting to catch up.

Tayuya took her instantly and carried her to Tsunade's desk, setting her down, Tsunade beginning to tend to her wounds instantly, along with Sakura and Ino. As they did, Tobi began to unravel from Ryuu, reforming in time to catch him and gently set him on the floor, everyone staring at them.

"Did I lose the prosthetics?" Ryuu asked.

"No," Tobi said, sounding almost like he had before the Genjutsu now. "But using me for that long is hard one your body. Plus you never recovered from the poison, and your chakra never fully recovered from the fight."

Ryuu nodded and sighed, turning his head to watch the other three Medical Ninja work. After a few more minutes, they all stepped back, sighing.

"We're done," Tsunade said, turning to him. "Now, what the fuck is that thing, and what happened to you?"

"We fought two Akatsuki Members, Kakuzu and Hidan," Ryuu said. "Hidan was able to inflict wounds on others by ingesting their blood and using his own blood to form a seal on the ground. Once inside of it, he inflicts the wounds on himself, and the same wounds are reflected on whoever's blood he ingests."

"And he doesn't die?" Tsunade asked.

"Oh Hidan's immortal," Tobi said. "That's why he's partnered with Kakuzu. Kakuzu can't die as long as he still has one of his five hearts functioning, so in the event of a hard fight, he has a habit of stealing his partners' hearts."

"Are you serious?" Tenten asked.

"He is," Ryuu nodded. "I took his head off, but he was alive later on when I rescued Fu."

"He uses a really scary jutsu called Earth Grudge," Tobi said. "It lets him stitch his body back together when he's wounded. He hearts are the things that matter. He has five."

"Four of them are in the masks he keeps on his back until he forms them masses of cords that are like puppets but that fire extremely powerful elemental jutsus, one element a mask," Ryuu said. "The heart in his own body is harder to hit, because he can move it around inside of himself."

"They sound like monsters," Choji said.

"Try fighting them," Ryuu said. "I assume everyone in this room knows about Fu's secret?"

Everyone nodded.

"Fu fought Hidan using the power of her Tailed Beast as a solid cloak of chakra, but Hidan managed to get her blood with his three-bladed scythe," Ryuu said. "Then he got in his seal and stabbed himself, and Fu was wounded too. I managed to get him out of the seal and used one of Kakuzu's attacks to break it. Then, Fu transformed into Chomei, the Seven-tails, fully, trying to use a blast of raw chakra that looked like a massive purple ball."

"Tailed Beast Ball," Tsunade said. "The most powerful attack a Tailed Beast can use."

"Yeah, that," Ryuu said. "Anyway, before she could, Hidan made himself another seal and stabbed himself two more times. The Tailed Beast Ball exploded and threw us all. It also burned Fu, and made her turn back to normal. I tried to get to her, to get away, and I decapitated Kakuzu on the way, but his cord puppets blasted me at point blank range."

"And that made your body look like that?" Kiba asked.

"When I found Ryuu, the right side of his body from the shoulder down had been blown off completely," Tobi said. "I managed to save him by attaching Hashirama Cells to that side of his body, like half a body's worth of prosthetics."

"So...you did what?" Lee asked.

"Hashirama Cells?" Tsunade asked, walking over.

"It's what I'm made out of," Tobi said. "And Zetsu. We're like...clones made from Hashirama Senju's DNA. Or bodies are capable of being grafted onto some people as prosthetics. Ryuu was lucky enough to be one of them."

"Why are they shriveled?" Tsunade asked.

"He has to go through rehabilitation," Tobi said. "He'd be doing it now, but we had to save Fu first, so I let him use my body."

"Why are you helping us?" Tsunade asked.

"Because Ryuu's my best friend," Tobi said.

Everyone stared at him.

"Okay," Tsunade finally sighed. "Since half of his body is now what you're made out of, is there anything we should know?"

"He doesn't need to eat or drink to survive anymore," Tobi said. "That stuff would just become chakra if he did. Because of that, he doesn't have to pee or poo either."

"Wait, he doesn't have to poop?" Kiba asked. "Bull shit. All humans pee and poop."

"Not him," Tobi said.

"Alright then," Tsunade sighed. "Ryuu, I'm putting Kabuto in charge of your rehab, again."

"I want Tobi there too," Ryuu said. "In case the Akatsuki shows up for Fu. Zetsu might. He was chasing us all the way back, until I put him under a Genjutsu."

"Oh Genjutsu doesn't work on Zetsu," Tobi said. "He was called off by Lord Pein."

"Who?" Ryuu asked.

"The pretend leader of the Akatsuki," Tobi said.

"Alright, you're going to stay and tell me everything you know about the Akatsuki," Tsunade said. "After that, you'll help Kabuto rehab Ryuu."

Tobi nodded. Tsunade dismissed everyone and Lee picked up Ryuu while Tayuya picked up Fu. Then, they left, using the rooftops to get to Ryuu's house without too many people noticing. Once there, they carried them inside, Tayuya leading Lee to Ryuu and Fu's bedroom, setting them on the bed, careful to put Fu on Ryuu's left side. Then, Lee left, Kabuto arriving a few minutes later, finding that Ryuu had passed out.

* * *

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	88. Chapter 88

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Control

Ryuu stared at the mirror as he worked. When he woke up, he had had Tayuya help him to the bathroom to inspect the damage. He had scarring across most of his face, which was slowly fading as he worked Medical Ninjutsu on it. Aside from that, he could feel a massive burn scar under his bandages on his torso. Once he was finished with his face, miraculously having made it look as good as new, he began to heal his torso, feeling the burn scar fading. Finally, he stopped, wishing he could see the scar to know how he was doing.

"Ryuu, you here?" Kabuto's voice called out.

"Up here!" Ryuu called back. "Tayuya, can you check on Fu?"

Tayuya nodded, leaving, and Ryuu leaned on the counter, staring at his eyes. Something felt off about them. About his Sharingan. He remembered being able to read Kakuzu's moves when he went to rescue Fu. Remembered Zetsu asking what was up with his eyes. He focused, and after a moment, his Sharingan began to move, change. The tomoe grew into black teardrop shapes, all three reaching straight outward. Then, three more formed in between the first three, except that these three were only outlines, with thicker black on the rounded part near the pupil and red inside. Lastly, small latticework-like pieces formed between the teardrops, each thin near the pupil before growing outward near the outside. From there, the lines moved inward and curved down, crossing, then wrapping back down, meeting at the bottom of the shape again. It was weird and hard to accurately describe, but he didn't watch them for long. Kabuto stepped into the bathroom behind him and he blinked, letting them deactivate.

"Mangekyo?" Kabuto asked. "Interesting. Come on. I'll help you down stairs to the couch so we can start. Tobi's already down there."

Ryuu nodded and followed Kabuto down the stairs. Once there, he sat down on the couch and Kabuto held his hands on either side of Ryuu's head, green chakra glowing from his hands.

"Alright, try moving your leg," Kabuto said. "This should help rebuild your neural pathways."

Ryuu nodded and tried, managing to make the leg twitch. He continued to try, but the leg refused to move. Finally, Kabuto sighed, letting the Medical Ninjutsu fade.

"The pathways are rebuilt, but you have to make the leg work on your own," Kabuto said. "It's not going to be easy."

Ryuu sighed, nodding and settling in for a very long rehab process.

* * *

Ryuu staggered forward, falling and catching himself on the wall. Tobi and Kabuto watched from off to the side as he caught his breath, then pushed himself up, continuing to hobble around the room from one bit of furniture to the next. He had been working on his rehab for weeks. Fu had woken up after three days, and was currently out training with Tayuya. She had wanted to be there for Ryuu, but Ryuu had told her train Tayuya, and to keep her own training up. Of course, Fu wasn't alone. There were no less than two dozen ANBU watching over her and three Jonin training with them.

Ryuu caught himself on a doorframe and sighed, panting and with sweat running down his face. He looked up at Tobi and Kabuto, who made no move to help him, then down at his leg. It had barely grown at all in the weeks he had been rehabbing. His arm was worse. He had gotten the protective casing and bandages off, allowing him to see that the white continued up his torso just to the right of center, then up over the top of his shoulder. The scar on his torso had been deep and covered his entire torso, but he had managed to make it fade to a very slight discoloration that was barely noticeable. The real problem was that where the Hashirama Cells met his skin, it turned from snow white to skin-colored. It didn't look natural. it didn't look good. It looked like he wasn't human. He _felt_ like her wasn't human.

He pushed off of the door frame, struggling toward the couch. Before he could reach it, however, his new leg gave out and Kabuto caught him.

* * *

"What exactly _is_ a Mangekyo Sharingan?" Ryuu asked.

"Orochimaru explained it as the last stage of a Sharingan," Kabuto said. "It grants the Uchiha who unlocks it certain powers, for example, Itachi can use Amaterasu, black flames that can burn through anything, including other flames, and Tsukuyomi, his absolute genjutsu, which even another Sharingan has never been able to see through. With Tsukuyomi, he can torture his victims for months in a second."

Ryuu nodded.

"There's more to it," Tobi said. "The more the Mangekyo Sharingan is used, the worse the Uchiha's vision grows. Using it causes blindness. However, there are ways to stop it. One is known as the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. An Uchiha can transplant the Mangekyo Sharingan of a close family member, preferably a brother, into their own eye socket, flood it with their own chakra, and the result is one of two things. Either it kills them, or their Mangekyo and that of their brother combine into an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. The other way, is Hashirama Cells. In the past, an Uchiha was grafted with them and is able to use his Mangekyo at will without any signs of going blind, even after years of using it as his primary means of combat. However, his is the only case in which the Hashirama Cells have been used, until you, so we have no way to be sure that your case will be the same as his."

Ryuu nodded. He sighed, standing slowly from the couch, his leg wobbling slightly before he began to do squats and lunges. After a bit, he stopped, feeling his leg growing weak, and dropped to a pushup position, both arms catching him. He sighed. His new arm was starting to have better reflexes. He began to do pushups, trying to ignore the burning in his new arm. However, after only fifty, his arm gave out and he dropped, sighing.

"You're getting stronger," Kabuto said.

"It's not enough," Ryuu said. "I don't even have Gravity Seals on yet and still I can barely move."

"I doubt you'll be able to use Gravity Seals for a while yet," Kabuto said.

"We'll see," Ryuu grumbled, standing.

* * *

"Ryuu," Tobi said as Ryuu was making dinner one night, the two of them being the only ones in the kitchen.

"What?" Ryuu asked.

"Do you remember me telling you about the Uchiha that had Hashirama Cells grafted onto him?"

"Yes," Ryuu nodded, glancing at him. "Why? What's up?"

"I'm the one that rehabbed him, as well," Tobi said. "He was a dear friend to me then. I still consider him a friend, but...he's become cold. Emotionless. Well, not entirely. And it's my fault."

"Wait, are you saying that he's still alive?" Ryuu asked, turning to him.

"He is," Tobi nodded. "He works behind the scenes as the true leader of the Akatsuki."

"Madara?" Ryuu asked. "So he actually _was_ an Uchiha. I thought he stole a Sharingan, the same way Kakashi was given one."

Tobi stared at the table in silence. "Its my fault he's become what he is. He was wounded saving his best friend and the love of his life. Madara found him and saved him, then put me and White Zetsu in charge of his rehab. But...while he was, the love of his life was captured and made a Jinchuriki, then sent back to the Hidden Leaf. We were ordered to take him there, but not until it was too late to save her, so we did. He used my body, like you did, but just as he got there, his friend killed the love of his life, to protect the Hidden Leaf. But he didn't know that. All he saw was the love of his life murdered by his friend. So he went ballistic. He massacred dozens of Hidden Mist ANBU. When he was done, he had lost faith in the world, and he adopted the name Madara. He became cold and emotionless, just like we had wanted. He wanted to create a dream world where the love of his life could still be alive. So he found the original members of the Akatsuki and killed them, all except the leaders. He manipulated the Third Mizukage to create the Blood Mist Village so that he could convince their strongest shinobi to desert. He manipulated the leaders of the original Akatsuki into adopting his view of the world by having one of them killed. Then, when the Akatsuki began down the path they are on now, he began to recruit, and have _them_ recruit. And he began to follow the true Madara's plan to change the world."

"Do you regret your actions?" Ryuu asked.

"Yes," Tobi nodded.

"Then we'll save your friend," Ryuu said. "Eventually. What was his name?"

* * *

Ryuu activated his gravity seals and grit his teeth. It had been months since he had used them, and in addition to that, his new leg and arm had _never_ used them. But it _was_ tolerable. He crouched, readying himself as Tobi took a combat stance of his own. Then, both lunged, striking at the other rapidly, blocking the other's strikes as they went. As they fought, Kabuto, Fu, and Tayuya stood off to the side, watching. Finally, Tobi caught Ryuu's left arm and spun, slamming him to the ground, hard.

"You've gotten better," Tobi said. "You're really strong."

"But I'm not strong enough," Ryuu said. "I'm still slow."

"It's your arm and leg," Fu said. "There's still a little lag. It'll improve."

"I hope so," Ryuu sighed, staring down at the white side of his body.

Fu saw the look in his eyes and walked forward, wrapping her arms around him. "It's late. Let's go watch the sunset, like we used to."

Ryuu smiled, nodding, and extended his wings, flying them both into the air, stopping once they were above the clouds and taking a seated position, Fu sitting in his lap. He held her against him, sighing and resting his head on her shoulder.

"You're still you," Fu said. "No matter what happens, and no matter what you have attached to you now, you're still you."

"I'm...barely human anymore," Ryuu said.

"Ryuu, we're shinobi," Fu said. "We can spit fire out of our mouths, or rocks, or wind that cuts through things, or lightning bolts, or entire oceans, if we have enough energy. I don't think human really quite describes any of us. Besides, I have a giant demon bug living inside of me and can use his wings or tail whenever I want to."

"But you're still human," Ryuu said, staring at his hand. "I'm...I don't even know what I am."

"You are Ryuu Uchiha," Fu said, slipping her hand into his. "Just like you've always been. You are the man I love with all my heart and the best person I've ever met. The only difference is that you now have a really, really smooth hand that's fun to pay with and that I bet would feel amazing inside of me."

She whispered the last part and Ryuu snorted, shaking his head and hugging her, Fu hugging him back.

"I don't even know if I'm capable of having sex anymore," Ryuu realized. "Let alone if it's safe."

"Well, I guess we'll have to find out, huh?" Fu smiled.

Ryuu smiled as well, shaking his head, and kissed her, Fu kissing him back without hesitation. Before long, however, Ryuu pulled back, sighing and looking to the sun, now mostly hidden behind the curve of the earth. They watched it set the rest of the way before Ryuu sank back to the ground, landing lightly, Fu remaining encircled in his arms for a long while before pulling back, slipping her hand into his again as they walked inside.

* * *

Ryuu flipped over Tayuya and Kabuto, kicking both away before flipping and landing on his hands, spinning and slamming a kick into Tobi as well, throwing him away. Fu shot toward him just as his feet hit the ground and he began to deflect her blows, barely keeping up. Finally, he ducked under a punch and grabbed her arm, spinning and hurling her. Then, he spun, sweeping Tobi's fist aside and into Tayuya's, Tayuya shouting in pain and Tobi pretending to also be injured, even though Ryuu knew from first hand experience thanks to his own prosthetics that Tobi could hit something a lot harder than Tayuya's hand before feeling it.

Ryuu spun as kabuto swiped at him with a Chakra Scalpel and Ryuu dropped into a low squat under it before pushing up, sending an uppercut rocketing into Kabuto's jaw, sending him flying. Then, as he reached his full height again, Ryuu jumped, allowing Fu's punch to pass under him. Tobi leapt at him in the air and Ryuu spun, both trading blows for several seconds before Ryuu caught Tobi's arm and flipped past him, kicking him into the ground. Tobi crashed down hard before flipping to his feet as Ryuu landed.

"Good," Tobi said. "We're done for today. You're just about back to normal."

"Finally," Ryuu sighed. "How long was that?" Five and a half months?"

"Just about," Kabuto nodded, massaging his jaw while Fu healed Tayuya's broken hand. "You've done well to get that arm and leg to where they are so fast."

"I suppose," Ryuu sighed. "Still, five months is a long time."

Kabuto nodded. "Come on. We should go let Lady Tsunade know that you're done rehab finally."

Ryuu nodded and left with Kabuto and Fu, since it was decided that Tobi had to stay at the house, and it was Tayuya's day to cook dinner. As they were walking, they met Kakashi, who smiled.

"Hello Ryuu, finally finished?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah," Ryuu nodded. "Took me long enough."

Just then, Anko stepped around the corner with a small girl, maybe two years old, waddling along behind her. Ryuu stared at the girl, confused.

"Hello Anko," Ryuu said. "Who's that?"

"This is Kana," Anko smiled, the girl staring at Ryuu with her golden yellow eyes that Ryuu instantly recognized.

"Oh my God," Ryuu said. "She's not..."

"Yes," Anko said. "She's Orochimaru. When he kidnapped me during the second exam, well...she's the result."

"Oh my God," Ryuu said. "I...don't even know what to say."

"It's alright," Anko smiled. "I still love her. She's not the one that did it. And I have Kakashi to help out, so it's fine."

"Kakashi?" Ryuu blinked before smirking. "I had heard you were together but I thought it was just a rumor."

"No, actually we've been together since she got back tot he village," Kakashi said.

"I see," Ryuu nodded just as he remembered his discussion with Tobi about the fake Madara. "Kakashi, there's something..."

"What is it?" Kakashi asked.

Ryuu stared at him, then at Kana before sighing. "No, it's nothing. Good luck with the kid."

Kakashi watched him for a minute before nodding. "Thanks."

As they all continued on their way, Fu and Kabuto both turned to Ryuu.

"Is there something wrong?" Kabuto asked.

"Yes, but Kakashi can't deal with it," Ryuu said. "He has a family now. I'll just deal with it myself."

"If you say so," Kabuto nodded.

They reached the Hokage's office a few minutes later and Ryuu knocked.

"Come in," Tsunade called.

Ryuu opened the door, stepping inside and Kabuto closed the door behind them.

"Ryuu," Tsunade smiled. "You look good."

"I'm done my Rehab," Ryuu said.

"Really?" Tsunade asked, looking to Kabuto, who nodded.

"He's back to where he should be," Kabuto said. "I'm clearing him to be finished rehab."

Tsunade nodded and turned to Ryuu. "Okay then. As of today, your shinobi status is resuming. Additionally, I believe there's a promotion in order. For the Chunin Exams, I'm going to be promoting you to Chunin. However, in light of the fact that you faced two extremely powerful Akatsuki members and survived, then faced them both a second time, as well as Zetsu, and rescued Fu in doing so, the Shinobi council and I have decided that you're to be promoted directly to Jonin. You'll be in charge of Fu and Tayuya, and Yugao will be available if you need an extra hand."

"Thank you Lady Tsunade," Ryuu bowed. "Did Tobi provide you with information about the Akatsuki?"

"He did," Tsunade said, handing him a file. "However, I forbid you from tracking down any of the members, or from going after Hidan and Kakuzu for revenge."

"I have no interest in going after them for reasons of revenge, Lady Tsunade," Ryuu said, scanning through all of the files. "But Fu is still in danger, so I need to know as much as I can about them all. That way I can defend her."

Tsunade nodded. Ryuu finished scanning the reports, using his Sharingan to memorize them, and set them back down. He bowed and turned, leaving the building with Fu, Kabuto staying behind. Once outside, Ryuu sighed, staring up at the clouds.

"What's wrong?" Fu asked.

"The leader of the Akatsuki possesses the Rinnegan," Ryuu said. "And Tobi didn't know much about him."

"Are we sure that Tobi's actually being fully honest?" Fu asked.

"According to Kabuto, Zetsu absorbed the genjutsu I placed on him by forcing my chakra into his," Ryuu said. "So, in a way, that genjutsu is now real. He's on our side."

"What's the Rinnegan?" Fu asked.

"It's the strongest of the Three Great Dojutsu," Ryuu said. "I'm not sure what its exact abilities are, but the Sage of the Six Paths possessed the Rinnegan."

Fu nodded just before both of their stomachs rumbled. Ryuu chuckled and they both headed toward Ichiraku's.

* * *

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	89. Chapter 89

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Practice

Ryuu watched as the Hidden Sand Village grew larger rapidly. There was no sign of an ongoing battle, however, as they approached, arrows began to fly toward them from guard towers around the village. Ryuu swiped a hand, sending out an arch of wind, clearing the arrows and they sped over the wall. They reached the Kage's building quickly and landed, Fu and Ryuu letting their wings fade as numerous Hidden Sand shinobi arrived, only for Matsuri to shove her way through their ranks.

"Ryuu, Fu, Tayuya!" Matsuri smiled. "Thank God you're here!"

"Where's Gaara?" Ryuu asked.

"He was attacked by-"

"The Akatsuki," Ryuu said. "We know. Gaara sent us a distress signal while he was fighting. Where is he?"

"He shielded us from an attack that would have leveled the village," Gaara's former jonin captain, Baki, said, stepping into the circle. "He was captured by the attacker. Kankuro went after them but was poisoned fighting the partner of the Akatsuki member that fought Lord Kazekage."

"Who was it?" Naruto asked. "What did they use to fight?"

Fu glanced at Ryuu worriedly, seeing the agitation and anger in his eyes.

"The one that Lord Gaara fought was a blonde that used explosive clay," Baki said.

"Deidara," Ryuu said. "Former member of the Hidden Stone. He possesses a variation of the Explosion Style Kekkei Genkai. His partner is Sasori of the Red Sand, a puppet master. Apparently, he hides himself inside of a puppet called Hiruko. His actual body is inside, and also apparently a puppet."

"How do you know all of this?" Baki asked.

"Let's call it an inside source," Ryuu said. "Listen to me carefully. I need to know which way they went, and I need to know now."

"What about Kankuro?" Matsuri asked.

"Team Kakashi is on their way," Ryuu said. "Sakura is a skilled medical ninja. She's trained under Tsunade and can save Kankuro."

"Ryuu," Fu said, Ryuu glancing a her, seeing the determined, unyielding expression. "We're _not_ abandoning Kankuro. You saw Ameno's jutsu. You felt what it does. You can copy it."

"Wait, where _is_ Ameno?" Ryuu asked.

"She's away on a mission," Baki said. "She was our first choice. _Can_ you use her Water Mosquito jutsu?"

Ryuu sighed, closing his eyes, holding a hand to his side where he had been stung by a scorpion. "I'll try. But I can't promise anything. And it'll take me time and something to practice on to figure it out."

"We have training dummies that Ameno practiced on," Baki said. "How long do you think it will take?"

"Probably several days," Ryuu said. "It's a complex jutsu, and I've never tried it before."

Baki nodded and the three Hidden Leaf shinobi were led inside to a small empty room. A few minutes later, Baki and several other shinobi brought in a large empty basin, a wooden dummy filled with tunnels forming fake veins, and several jars of a thick syrup-like substance to serve as fake poison. Ryuu sighed. It wasn't going to be perfect. He needed to practice separating poison from blood as well as poison from body. He sighed as Fu filled the basin with water and Tayuya filled the dummy completely with syrup. Ryuu sighed, closing his eyes and thinking back to the chunin exams as he activated his Sharingan. He slowly copied the hand seals from memory, then focused on the water. After a moment, a single Water Mosquito formed and Ryuu rolled his eyes, letting it fall away. He tried again, and this time the water merely rippled. He tried a third time and got two mosquitoes.

"Jesus," Ryuu grumbled. "I suddenly have a whole new level of respect for Ameno." He focused, the mosquitoes flying to the dummy and forcing themselves through one of the holes, only to instantly turn back into water as he lost control. He sighed, resting his face in his hands for a moment. "It's going to take me until Sakura's here before I can do this jutsu right, by which time it'll be too late."

"Better to know it and not need it," Fu said."Besides, maybe you'll surprise yourself."

Ryuu sighed, continuing to try to form a full swarm of mosquitoes. The more he formed, the less control he had, shockingly. The more he made, the more his head screamed from trying to control so many and from trying to focus on them all. It felt like he was trying to sense the entire Leaf village again. He sighed. Ameno would probably make an amazing sensory ninja.

"Keep trying," Fu said. "You're getting better at it."

"Yeah, I can do a whole three now," Ryuu grumbled, trying again and forming four.

"See?" Fu smiled. "Better."

Ryuu gave her a blank stare and she sighed.

"Fine," Fu said. "Let's make it a competition then."

She formed the hand seals and a half dozen mosquitoes formed. Ryuu rolled his eyes.

"You know, sometimes I really hate how much of a genius you are at Taijutsu and anything water related," Ryuu said.

He continued, managing to add a mosquito every couple dozen attempts, where Fu managed to add one every handful of tries. Finally, Ryuu sighed, sitting against the wall and holding his head, waiting for his headache to settle. As he did, Fu continued to practice for a few more minutes before also stopping, grimacing as she sat down beside him.

"Okay," Fu said. "Maybe we should wait for Sakura to make an antidote."

"What, you're just going to give up?" Tayuya asked.

"Trying to control so many constructs at a time, especially that small, is painful," Ryuu said. "It requires ridiculous amounts of focus and control."

"Something that you don't have much of ever since you started hating yourself," Fu said, Ryuu staring at her. "Don't act surprised. You've never been able to hide anything from me."

Ryuu sighed, leaning his head back against the wall. "Sorry."

"For what?" Fu asked. "Ryuu, you lost half of your body and had something we didn't even know existed grafted onto it as a prosthetic. You have nothing to apologize for. You did everything in your power and then some to save my life, and because of that, I'm here. You saved my life, at the cost of your arm and leg. You will never have to apologize to me. And just because half of your body is lighter than the other and a lot smoother, it doesn't mean you're not human, or that you're any less than you were before. You are still exactly who you've always been. I've told you. No matter what happens, you will always be Ryuu Uchiha, and you will always be the man I love."

Ryuu sighed, leaning on her shoulder, Fu wrapping her arms around him. Ryuu remained there for a long while, saying nothing, staring at the water. Finally, he sighed, pushing himself up.

"Well, we're not going to save anyone by sitting around feeling sorry for me," Ryuu said, kneeling beside the basin and forming the hand seals. "Medical Water Style, Water Mosquito."

Several water mosquitos formed, hovering over the basin as more began to form, then more. When he stopped, he had formed about three dozen. Not the swarm that Ameno could form instantly, but much, much more than he had been making before. He took a breath, focusing, and sent the mosquitoes into the dummy. Half fell apart instantly, and Ryuu felt his chakra take a sharp drop trying to stabilize the rest. Sweat began to bead on his face and left side, falling into his eyes. He closed them, extending his senses. He could feel the mosquitoes, he could tell where the false veins ran thanks to residual chakra in them to help Ameno train, he suspected, but he couldn't track all of the mosquitoes. He focused, gritting his teeth against the feeling of his brain trying to rip itself apart.

"Don't push it," Fu said from behind him, gently beginning to massage his temples and comb her fingers through his hair. "Sensing a lot of things isn't about tracking, it's about watching. You see the whole picture rather than trying to focus on anything in particular."

Ryuu sighed, struggling to zoom out, struggling to not focus on anything. Slowly, more and more of his mosquitoes began to register to his senses. Finally, he was able to see them all, along with the false veins. He began to use the mosquitos, extracting the syrup as quickly as he could without losing control of jutsu. Each time he removed a mosquito, he tried to make it drop the syrup, only for the entire mosquito to fall away.

"I can't reuse them," Ryuu said.

"Neither could Ameno," Fu said. "Remember? When she used it on you, she had to keep making more."

Ryuu nodded, forming more mosquitoes each time some were released. He continued the cycle, removing more and more of the syrup until it was finally all gone. He sighed, letting the last of the mosquitoes fall away and dropping onto his rear, groaning again. Fu knelt behind him, running her fingers through his hair again for several minutes before placing a gentle kiss on top of his head.

"You did well," Fu said. "Rest for a bit, then try again, okay?"

Ryuu nodded as Fu refilled the dummy and tried, managing to create slightly more mosquitoes than him and managing to empty the dummy slightly faster. Ryuu rested his head against her shoulder, waiting for the throbbing in his head to fade. Once Fu had finished, she rested her head on top of his, slipping her hand into his right one after pulling the glove off. Ryuu tried to pull his hand away but Fu held it in place firmly. Finally, Ryuu gave up and Fu turned it so that his palm was up, trailing her finger lightly over his palm. He watched her do it, enjoying the tickling sensations and allowing himself to lose himself in her presence.

"No ridges," Fu said after a few seconds. "That's why they're so smooth."

"Partly," Ryuu said. "I think whatever they're made of is part of it."

"Just think," Tayuya said. "You can steal whatever you want and no one will be able to catch you. And if they blame you for it because of the no fingerprints thing, you can blame Tobi."

Ryuu smiled. "I'm not a thief. I'm a pacifist whose job is to kill."

"Ryuu..." Fu looked down at him and he smiled, kissing her for a moment.

"It's alright," Ryuu said. "I've made peace with that. As much as I can. And I have you."

"And you always will," Fu smiled. "I will always be with you."

"I know," Ryuu smiled. "I know."

"You know," Tayuya said. "Between the two of you, you might be able to save Kankuro."

"Not yet," Ryuu said. "We've only learned to remove everything. We'd take his blood with the poison. We need something to mix the syrup with so we can practice separating them."

Just then the door opened and Matsuri walked in, carrying some bottles of dye. She set them down beside the dummy and looked at the basin.

"Ameno used to water down the syrup then mix it with dye and try to take the dye out," Matsuri said. "I figured you guys would need it eventually."

Ryuu nodded, smiling. "Your timing was perfect. Thank you."

Matsuri nodded, smiling. "So, is there any progress?"

"We can do a...passable job if we do it together," Ryuu said. "But we'll need to keep the poison as undiluted as possible so that Sakura can make an antidote, for when we fight Sasori again."

"Okay," Matsuri nodded. "I'll make sure to let them all know that."

Ryuu nodded and Matsuri left, closing the door behind her.

"Why does it feel like we're in prison?" Tayuya asked.

"We'll probably be released once Kakashi gets here," Ryuu said. "Or if we ask nicely."

Fu smiled before getting up and watering down some syrup before mixing in dye and pouring it into the dummy. Ryuu went first, trying to extract the dye without pulling out the syrup. He failed. He refilled it trying again. Again, he failed. Fu tried with the same result. Ryuu sighed. This was going to be hard.

* * *

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	90. Chapter 90

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Extraction

Ryuu sighed, watching Kankuro carefully. Kankuro was restrained by numerous sealing jutsus, straps, ropes, and also by Fu's webs. He wasn't moving. Ryuu looked to Fu, who nodded, both going through the hand seals.

"Medical Water Style, Water Mosquito," both said, a swarm forming from the water basin between them, using all of the water.

The swarm flew up over Kankuro and Tayuya pulled his shirt up, exposing his navel. The swarm began to spiral, flying down to his navel before burrowing into him, Kankuro shrieking in agony instantly.

"You're hurting him!" Matsuri gasped.

"Yup, sure are," Ryuu said, sweat already running down his face, eyes squeezed shut and teeth clenched in strain, Fu only slightly better off.

"This jutsu causes excruciating pain, but without Sakura here for who knows how long, it's the only way to save him," Tayuya explained. "Just make sure the bowl's ready for the poison."

Matsuri nodded, looking to the side where several large bowls were waiting for the poison. After several minutes of Kankuro screaming and trying to thrash, dark purple mosquitoes began to break out of his navel again, flying to the bowls before collapsing, rapidly filling them. However, just as the last bowl was halfway filled, the mosquitoes stopped, the rest of them falling back into the basin again. Ryuu sighed, beginning to heal the damage the mosquitoes had done, Fu helping, just as Sakura walked in. Ryuu glanced up at her before returning his attention to the task at hand.

"He was poisoned by a member of the Akatsuki," Ryuu said. "The poison's in those bowls. Make an antidote."

Sakura nodded, hurrying over and having a shinobi lead her to all of the medicinal herbs the village had. After a few moments, Ryuu and Fu finished healing Kankuro and stepped back, both panting, and allowed his jutsu restraints and Fu's webbing to disappear, Temari rushing over and removing the rest, checking him for injuries, finding no sign of them on the surface.

"Is he healed?" Temari asked.

"Mostly," Ryuu said. "He'll still be weak from the poison, and he'll need rest. Plenty of it. But yeah. He's healed."

Temari smiled, tears filling her eyes. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

"Don't thank me yet," Ryuu said. "Even if we hadn't done that, Sakura would have. We have to go and save Gaara now."

"Not yet," Baki said. "You're both too exhausted to fight the Akatsuki. Rest here for tonight. We need to find a way to track them anyway."

"I could have my hounds try," Kakashi said.

Just then, Kankuro groaned, eyes slowly open before he turned his head, staring at Ryuu.

"Butcher," Kankuro groaned. "I caught...part of...Sasori's mask. It's in...Crow's hand."

Ryuu looked off to the side where Kankuro's broken puppets had been piled, and Kankuro passed back out. Ryuu walked over to he puppet parts, picking up the only hand curled into a fist and pulled the fingers out, pulling out a piece of fabric and walking back to the others, handing it to Kakashi.

"How soon can you know where they are?" Ryuu asked.

"Tomorrow at the latest," Kakashi said.

"Okay," Ryuu nodded. "Baki, is there a place we can stay?"

"Yes," Baki nodded. "There's a hotel back near the gate. Don't worry about the rooms. We'll take care of it."

"Fuck that!" Naruto snapped. "We're going to go and save Gaara now!"

Ryuu caught him by the back of the collar and spun him, slamming him up against the wall by the throat. "You're not going anywhere, Naruto. Especially alone." As he spoke, he unzipped his flak and shrugged it off of his right arm. "Maybe you didn't notice, but I'm stronger than you. So is Fu. And when the two of us fought against two Akatsuki members, _this_ is the result!" He had pulled his arm out of his sleeve and lifted the shirt up onto his shoulder, several people gasping.

"What...is that?" Naruto asked.

"It's a _replacement_ body," Ryuu said. "Fu and I fought two Akatsuki members, and I lost _half_ of my body! If _that_ happened when me and Fu together were fighting two of them, what the fuck do you think wold happen to you if you went off half-cocked _alone_?"

Naruto stared at Ryuu's snow-white side and Ryuu set him on his feet, sighing and pulling his shirt and flak back on.

"I'm sorry, Naruto, but you're going to wait with the rest of us," Ryuu said. "I know he's your friend, I know you want to save him, and I know you don't want to wait. But you would be slaughtered if you fought even a single one of the Akatsuki members as you are now. If you just charge after them alone, you'll be captured and then we'd have to save you and Gaara both. Is that what you want?"

"No," Naruto said. "I...I'm sorry."

Ryuu sighed and nodded. "Thank you for allowing us to stay in the village Baki. We won't cause any trouble."

Baki nodded and Ryuu turned, waking out of the building. Within seconds of him having stepped outside, Fu grabbed him from behind, flying into the air then stopping, turning him to face her.

"What's wrong?" Fu asked.

"Noth-"

"No!" Fu snapped. "Don't give me that shit! Tell me what's wrong!"

"I'm scared!" Ryuu shouted. "Happy? I'm absolutely terrified. The last time we fought an Akatsuki team, I almost died, and I almost lost you. We have no idea how many there will be this time. All nine could be here. Maybe ten."

"What do you mean 'maybe ten?'" Fu asked. "There are only nine."

"Tobi told me that the current leader is only the second in command in reality," Ryuu sighed. "Behind the scenes, the real leader is an Uchiha with the same prosthetics as me, who took the name Madara Uchiha after being chosen by the real Madara as his successor, the real Madara somehow apparently having survived his fight with Hashirama. So, in reality, there are ten members. And we legitimately might have to fight all ten of them. So I'm afraid. I'm terrified that I'll lose you. I'm terrified that I'll lose friends. I'm even afraid that Hidan and Kakuzu will be here, and I'll completely snap again, like I did when I killed Ishidate."

"You won't," Fu said, cupping his face. "You won't lose friends, you will never lose me, and you won't snap. And even if we _do_ have to fight them all, we'll just take Gaara and run. We're not foolish enough to fight the entire Akatsuki at once."

"We wouldn't have a choice," Ryuu said. "If they're all there, we won't be able to escape."

"Yes we will," Fu smiled. "Trust me. I don't carry this big scroll on my back for nothing."

Ryuu tilted his head to the side, staring at the object on her back. He had never actually asked what it was, and he had never seen her use it. Actually, this was the first time in a long time that he'd actually seen her carrying it.

"You usually _don't_ carry that thing," Ryuu pointed out.

Fu smiled. "Okay, fine. I didn't _bring_ this big scroll on my back for nothing. Happy?"

"A little," Ryuu mused, leaning in. "Could be happier."

"Oh really?" Fu smiled, kissing him. "Well...we'll just have to...fix that."

Ryuu smiled, holding Fu against him as he slipped his tongue into her mouth. Her own began to dance with his and she pressed herself against him. After several seconds, he pulled away, and sighed. Fu blinked, staring at him.

"Sorry," Ryuu said. "We're not exactly hidden here."

"So let's go to the hotel," Fu said.

Ryuu chuckled, kissing her. "I can't."

Fu gave him a concerned look.

"I'm sorry," Ryuu sighed. "I just...I don't want to be able to say that it was because I was scared. I just...After. Okay? After we all survive this mission."

Fu smiled and nodded, kissing him for a moment before beginning to descend. "We're taking a vacation soon. A real one, not just because you're hurt again. I want to be able to actually enjoy my boyfriend."

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Ryuu smiled.

Fu smiled as they touched down and they walked to the hotel, getting a room and heading up to it, both climbing into bed instantly and going to sleep.

* * *

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	91. Chapter 91

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

"White Zetsu."

" **Black Zetsu.** "

* * *

Saved

Ryuu stirred, twisting and cracking his back. He sighed quietly, glancing back at Fu. He was sure that they had gone to bed clothed. He remembered getting too hot and taking off his shirt, explaining why he was only in a pair of pants. But He didn't remember Fu ever taking off her own clothes. All of them. He sighed, smiling. Some things never changed. He stood, pulling his shirt back on, followed by his gloves, headband, and flak. He stretched, twisting to one side, then the other again just as someone knocked on the door. He walked over, opening it a crack, glad it opened away from the bed. Kakashi was standing outside.

"Pakkun found their trail," Kakashi said. "They're at a river about halfway through the Land of Rivers."

"That narrows it down," Ryuu said. "We'll be out in a minute. I'll wake Fu up now."

Kakashi nodded and Ryuu closed the door, leaning against it, sighing quietly. His fear from the day before returned. Before he could lose himself to the fear, however, Fu stepped up in front of him, cupping his face and making him focus on her.

"It's going to be okay," Fu said. "I promise you, it's going to be fine."

Ryuu nodded and Fu kissed him before getting dressed and pulling her scroll onto her back. Once she had, they left the room, heading to the Kazekage's office, where the others were gathered. Kakashi handed Ryuu a map with the hideout's location marked.

"We discussed it, and you two should go on ahead," Kakashi said. "We probably don't have long until they finish sealing Shukaku, which means Gaara dies. You two can get there fastest, so it lessens the chance of that happening. We'll be there to back you up as soon as we can, so..."

"We'll be fighting alone against whoever's there for at least a day and a half," Ryuu said. "Half the distance home, half the time. Plus we have to expect they'll send someone to slow you down, so there's a high chance it'll be at least two days, maybe more."

"We don't know that there are any more than two," Baki said.

"And we don't know there are any less than nine," Ryuu said. "For all we know, this could be their base of operations, and they're all there."

"Ryuu," Kakashi said. "This is our _only_ chance to save Gaara's life. We _need_ you two to do this. But we can't force you. I know that...after what happened with Hidan and Kakuzu...no one will fault you for deciding to protect Fu over Gaara."

Ryuu stared at the floor. "Run away, you mean. No one will fault me for running away."

"It's your choice, Ryuu," Fu said. "I'll be by your side no matter what you choose."

"And if I let him die, I won't deserve to have you there," Ryuu said. "We'll go. But I need you to move faster than a day and a half pace. If there's more than two...Fu and I can't handle them. And besides that...we're overdue for the other one."

"He _has_ been awfully quiet recently," Fu agreed.

"If Mhao shoes up, or if there are too many for you to handle, I'm _ordering_ you, here and now, to cut and run," Kakashi said. "Don't try to be a hero. Don't risk your life, or Fu's. Don't try for revenge, and don't be a sacrificial pawn. If there are more Akatsuki members than the two of you can handle for two days straight, or if Mhao shoes up and proves too much of a nuisance to deal with immediately, just run. We'll save Gaara ourselves. You need to keep Fu safe so that they don't get more than one Jinchuriki."

"What about Naruto?" Ryuu asked.

"Don't count him out just yet," Kakashi said. "He's stronger than you think."

"He's more stubborn than I give him credit for," Ryuu snorted before sighing. "Okay. We'll go now."

Kakashi nodded and Ryuu held his hand out, Kakashi reaching out to shake it. As he did, Ryuu formed the Seal of Confrontation and a seal appeared on the back of Kakashi's thumb, a piece of it leaving his thumb and traveling to his ear.

"Make the Seal of Confrontation with your thumb extended along your finger and place it to your ear and we can communicate," Ryuu said, placing a matching seal on everyone else in the room before placing one on himself. "I'll try to keep you updated."

Kakashi nodded, and Ryuu and Fu left, flying into the air and away from the village.

"Where's Yomo?" Fu asked as they flew toward the Land of Rivers.

"Staying as far away from the Akatsuki as I can keep him," Ryuu said. "Just like you should be."

Fu gave him a blank stare and he rolled his eyes, smiling. He watched the ground as the desert began to turn into grass and trees. He watched the ground pass by below them for several hours as they flew. Finally, they began to pass rivers. They were getting close, and he was getting nervous and antsy again.

"Hey," Fu said, slipping her hand into his. "I'm right here with you. It's going to be okay."

Ryuu nodded, forcing himself to calm down and looking ahead of them. Finally, after about another twenty minutes, they spotted the hideout, hidden behind a boulder on the river and with a sealing tag on the face of the boulder. Ryuu landed on the water, staring at the tag. He stepped forward, punching the boulder and watching ripples flow over the surface of it from the barrier.

"Five Seal Barrier," Ryuu said. "This shouldn't take long."

"You have to remove all five at the same time," Fu said. "We should use clones."

"Don't worry," Ryuu said. "I'll take care of it."

He climbed the boulder, setting a hand on the seal tag and focusing. After a moment, seal script spread over the barrier and flashed before shrinking into the seal tag, which lit on fire, Ryuu dropping to the ground as it burned away. Then, he punched the boulder again, the boulder exploding inward. Inside, Gaara was suspended in midair, surrounded by a large mass of blue chakra, with a tendril of it extending from the mass into the mouth of a statue, bright orange Tailed Beast Chakra oozing out of Gaara's eyes and mouth and then flowing through the blue chakra to the statue. The statue's hands were raised, its fingers extended upward and separated, a silhouette on each, all glowing bright green. Most were little more than shadows with the outlines of their cloaks and the clouds on the cloaks in green and red mixed, however, Deidara, Sasori, and Zetsu were all solid.

"So you've arrived," Kakuzu said. "I wish I was there to deal with you again."

Ryuu sprinted forward, hurling a kunai with an explosive tag at the three present members, roots bursting out of the ground and blocking the kunai and explosions. Then, Ryuu jumped, extending his wings and flying forward, slamming his hand into the statue's throat.

"Fire Style, Blockbuster!" Ryuu shouted, and explosion erupting out of the statue where he had been, Ryuu standing beside Fu again. The explosion faded but did nothing.

"It's not that easy to end this jutsu," a silhouette with grey rippled eyes said calmly. "Just stand there and be patient. We'll deal with the Jinchuriki you've brought with you in a moment."

"Any ideas Fu?" Ryuu asked.

"We need to get Gaara out of that stuff," Fu said.

"I feel like that's easier said than done," Ryuu said, swinging a hand and pulling water behind them, the water extending into the cave they were in a short ways.

He swung the whip, wrapping it around Gaara, only for the chakra from it to be instantly absorbed. Ryuu sighed. The only way was to go through the jutsu directly, but that would cost him nearly all of his chakra.

"Okay," Ryuu sighed. "Let's give this a try."

He inhaled, extending his wings and forming hand seals.

"Fire Style, Majestic Demolisher Flame!" Ryuu said, using the jutsu to send himself rocketing up toward the blue chakra.

He got about halfway before Zetsu slammed a kick into him, sending him blasting back into the ground. Ryuu flipped, landing on his feet and glared at Zetsu as roots burst out of the ground around him.

"We won't be letting you take him," Zetsu said. " **Not that you'd survive trying it that way anyway, but still.** "

"Fu, deal with the jutsu if you can," Ryuu said. "I'll handle Zetsu and the other two."

Fu nodded and Ryuu shot forward, drawing his tanto and trench knife, ducking under a stab from one of Zetsu's roots before jumping and flipping, slashing the next root, then landing on top of it. He activated his Sharingan, sprinting forward and leaping into the air as two more roots stabbed into the one he had just vacated. As he fell past Zetsu, he slashed, splitting Zetsu in half, only for both halves to turn into wood. He spun as he landed, slamming the blade of his tanto into a root, diverting it to the side before lunging, slashing with the trench knife and removing Zetsu's head, Zetsu again turning into wood. Ryuu stopped, growling in annoyance as he turned back to the roots, a dozen more Zetsu's growing out of the ground. He looked past them to where Fu was dodging away from several misshapen clay humanoids that were trying to catch her.

"That's enough of this," Ryuu growled. "Fu, leave!"

Fu glance at him, then nodded and was enveloped in a flash of light, vanishing before the light faded. Deidara looked at him, raising an eyebrow as several Ryuus stepped out of Ryuu, all flickering slightly. The Ryuus calmly walked away from each other. Zetsu sent his roots at them, but just as the roots stabbed through where the Narutos had been, the Narutos were suddenly spaced around the cavern, forming hand seals.

"I've had enough," Ryuu said, all of them forming hand seals. "Fire Style, Majestic Destroyer Flame!"

They exhaled the flames inward at the same time as another Ryuu appeared on the statue, slamming both hands into its face, sealing script spreading over it rapidly.

"Stop him!" the leader shouted.

Instantly, dozens of walls of roots appeared, holding the flames back, barely, as Sasori appeared over the Ryuu at the statue, tail stabbing downward at him, only for another Ryuu to appear in front of the first, slashing the tail aside and streak forward, slashing at Sasori.

Sasori moved to avoid it, only for that Ryuu to suddenly be directly in front of Sasori, his tanto covered by a Vacuum Blade, splitting Sasori's puppet shell in half instantly. The other Ryuu's seal flashed gold and the blue chakra surrounding Gaara suddenly separated from the statue, the Tailed Beast Chakra still inside of it returned to Gaara before that Ryuu leapt off of the statue at the blue chakra, seal script forming over his palm.

"Don't let him touch it!" Itachi warned.

Zetsu leapt at Ryuu, a half dozen roots shooting past him to stab at Ryuu. Before it could, another Ryuu fell out of the first, slashing with a flaming jutsu sword, the blade extending and removing all of the roots, lighting them on fire before also splitting Zetsu in half. Then, Ryuu reached the sphere of blue chakra, slamming his palm into it. Instantly, seal script raced over the sphere, which shone gold. After several moments, the light shone blindingly and Ryuu felt an enormous drain on his chakra as the sphere began to dissolve. He grunted, shoving more chakra into the seal and the sphere began to dissolve faster.

"No way," Deidara breathed. "That's possible?"

"What kind of...jutsu is that?" a tall member with a sword on his back, Kisame, asked.

"It's a Barrier Dissolvement Seal," Itachi said. "Effective, but exhausting. I had heard you were alive, but I wasn't expecting this. You've grown a lot to be able to perform that jutsu...Ryuu."

"Itachi," Ryuu growled. "I can't wait until Sasuke and I find you."

"All in due time," Itachi said. "If you don't die here."

Ryuu sighed, kneeling beside Gaara, who had fallen to the floor as the sphere had finished fading. Ryuu knelt, feeling Gaara's pulse and sighing when he found one, though faint. A second Ryuu appeared, picking up Gaara before turning and walking away from the Akatsuki.

"Stop him," the Akatsuki's leader ordered.

Deidara's clay minions leapt at the second Ryuu but passed through him, crashing to the ground before exploding, the second Ryuu walking out of the fireball with Gaara, both completely unscathed.

"That's impossible," Deidara said. "How did you..."

"He's Shisui Uchiha's son," Itachi said. "Shisui used to be able to create clones using nothing but the Body Flicker Technique. Those clones could attack as tough they were actual clones, but when attacked, strikes would pass through them entirely. This is the same thing. He has become just as fast as his brother was at that age."

"Well, as long as it's just a trick, I'll just have to roast the whole room!" Deidara said, hurling a dozen small clay birds into the air, the birds suddenly expanding to roughly the same size as the carriages Michiru from the Crescent Moon Kingdom had used to transport his stuff when they first met.

Then, the birds all erupted into flames, filling the cavern completely. Deidara and Sasori landed on the cliff opposite the cave just as Zetsu grew out of the ground beside them, only for Ryuu to appear a distance behind them. He turned toward them as Fu landed behind him, Gaara held in her arms.

"Impressive," Fu said. "How'd you keep Zetsu busy?"

"Distracted him with a bunch of fire," Ryuu said. "Then I split him in half."

"This kid is...annoying," Deidara growled.

"Indeed," Sasori nodded.

"You guys seem a little off," Ryuu said. "You didn't try very hard to keep Gaara. In fact, besides Zetsu, neither of you actually really tried at all."

"He has a point," Zetsu said. " **Would you two care to explain?** "

"Honestly?" Deidara asked. "He looked like a bratty kid, and I kinda wanted to see you in action for once. You don't fight often, and I got curious."

" **Well, now that you've seen what I can do, would you mind showing them what _you_ can do**?" Zetsu demanded.

Deidara rolled his eyes and stepped forward, Ryuu curling his hands into fists.

"Fu, leave," Ryuu said. "Take Gaara to Sakura. Then come back."

"Be careful," Fu said.

Ryuu nodded and Fu jumped into the air, extending her wings, only for a massive clay dragon to slam its tail into her, sending her blasting back into the ground. Ryuu stared up at it, then at Deidara, who grinned.

"Like it?" Deidara asked. "I don't think even you and your pretty girlfriend can outrun this."

Ryuu turned back to the three Akatsuki members and and exhaled a beam of Lightning Style chakra, which drilled through Deidara, who fell away into clay. "Fu, see if you can deal with Deidara. I'll watch Gaara."

Fu nodded and flew into the air again, the dragon following, now with Deidara on top of it. Ryuu drew his tanto and trench knife, readying himself. As he did, Sasori pulled out a scroll, unrolling it and sending chakra threads into it from his fingers, the threads pulling out a puppet with long messy blue hair, and a long dark grey cloak with tan fur lining the hood. Ryuu streaked forward instantly, speeding toward the puppet as a cloud of iron sand began to flood out of its mouth. Ryuu dropped into a slide as a long spike of iron sand erupted out of the cloud, barely missing him. He rolled to the side out of a second spike that shot downward out of the spike, flipping to his feet and leaping backward, exhaling a barrage of Air Bullets, which flew at the puppet, crashing into a cloud of iron sand harmlessly. Ryuu landed on his feet and growled in frustration. It was like trying to fight Gaara.

"I wouldn't hold back if I were you Sasori," Zetsu said. " **Otherwise you'll be killed. He's far stronger than you're giving him credit for.** "

Sasori nodded, pulling a second scroll from its holder on his back, tossing it into the air as he opened a panel on right side of his chest. Instantly, hundreds of chakra threads shot out of the opening, driving themselves into the scroll from above before pulling out easily a hundred puppets, all wearing red cloaks and with a massive variety of bladed weapons. Ryuu cocked his head before grinning.

"I see," Ryuu said. "You've got tricks. So do I."

Sasori sent the red puppets at Ryuu, who smirked, two Shadow Clones, two Crow Clones, and one Afterimage Clone all forming and charging into the ranks of the puppets. As the puppets assaulted Ryuu, Ryuu began to flip, slash, kick, punch, and otherwise destroy the puppets as rapidly as he could, his clones doing the same. The puppets attacked relentlessly, all of them moving according to Sasori's will, and with Sasori on the sidelines, he seemed to have the perfect vantage point to masterfully manipulate them all at once. Ryuu was amazed with his skill. After several moments, Ryuu extended his wings, flying backward as his clones were all destroyed, except the Afterimage Clone, which he allowed to fade. He stopped as he cleared the cloud of puppets, doing a quick headcount with his Sharingan, counting twenty seven left, not including the one with the iron sand.

"Not too bad," Ryuu mused. "So, now I just deal with the-"

He flipped to the side, barely escaping Sasori as he himself crashed down where Ryuu had been. Before Ryuu had even landed, a cable ending in a spike and coated in poison, which had been wound up in Sasori's abdomen before, exploded out of the dust cloud at Ryuu. Ryuu used the Body Flicker Technique to get out of the way, landing on his hands and feet and skidding to a stop, watching as a pair of massive blades unfolded from Sasori's back, spreading into multiple blades before beginning to spin like propellors. At the same time, a pair of barrels extended from Sasori's palms and he grinned wickedly.

Ryuu growled in annoyance and flipped sideways, out of the way of a massive conical spike of iron sand, which exploded into the ground. As Ryuu landed, the puppets all shot toward him, Ryuu quickly forming hand seals as they closed in.

* * *

Fu flipped in mid air, avoiding a pair of clay eagles and streaking downward at Deidara. He smirked, leaning aside as she swung a punch at him, barely missing. However, before he could react, she flipped, slamming a kick into his side. He flew away from her, growling in rage and forming the Seal of Confrontation with his uninjured hand. Instantly, the dragon's tail shortened three segments, the dragon spitting out three smaller, pig-like dragons, all still much larger than Fu, before flying after Deidara. The three smaller dragons all flew after Fu, who turned, taking off as fast as she could, dodging and weaving through the trees, struggling to escape his creations. He had already proven that they were faster than her, now it was a monumental challenge to avoid the three dragons, who kept smashing through trees and bull-rushing her from every side, one after another. Finally, she flipped, flying straight up as the three crashed into each other.

As soon as they did, she flipped, forming hand seals. "Fire Style, Giant Fireball Jutsu!"

She exhaled a massive fireball onto the three and all three erupted into fireballs of their own. The explosions combined into a massive mushroom of flame, the concussion blasting into Fu and hurling her, her wings fading. She shouted in pain as it hit, flipping higher and higher into the air before reforming her wings and catching herself. Just as she did, Deidara's dragon spat out another, this one barely ten feet away already. She shouted in surprise, launching herself backward and pulling her knees up, crossing her arms.

"Die!" Deidara shouted, detonating the dragon.

The explosion instantly caught Fu, filling the air as Deidara laughed. However, after a few moments, the smoke exploded outward, clearing and leaving Fu covered in her Tailed Beast Cloak, her shins and forearms burned badly, and her top ripped off, but alive.

"Well well," Deidara grinned. "Trying to persuade me to let you live?"

Fu glared at him as though trying to will him to drop dead. Deidara laughed as the dragon spat out a dozen more dragons. Fu's eyes narrowed and she floated to the ground, landing in the crater left by the the original three's explosion. She knelt beside the scroll, which had been blown off by the explosion, and unrolled it, exposing a massive seal, and began to form hand seals as the dragons shot toward her.

"Takigakure Hidden Technique, Replication!"

The seal flashed as Fu fed it chakra. A moment later, a pillar of light exploded out of it, reaching twenty feet into the air before Fu clones began to explode out of it, crashing into the dragons above Fu with a variety of jutsus, all of the dragons exploding. Then, more clones flooded out of the pillar of light, all flying at Deidara, who shouted in surprise. Then, the Fu clones all blasted into Deidara, launching him away from the dragon, which went limp and crashed to the ground, plowing up a wall of it before stopping beside Fu. Fu let the light fade, rolling up the scroll before standing and turning toward her clones, just as a massive explosion went off, obliterating them. Deidara crashed to the ground just inside the clearing, bruised and bloodied, with his other arm blasted off below the shoulder and his eyes glassy and lifeless.

"Not too tough," Fu said.

"Is that so?" Deidara's voice asked suddenly.

Fu's eyes widened and she spun toward the dragon just as it began to shine.

* * *

Ryuu stopped, the puppets doing the same, as an explosion filled the sky in the distance. Ryuu, Zetsu, and Sasori all watched as, a moment later, a tiny speck of red chakra descended to the ground and a column of light shot into it, releasing a flood of Fu clones. Ryuu grinned as they swarmed Deidara and finished his hand seals.

"Wind Style, Ripping Cyclone!" he shouted, slamming his hands own, a tornado exploding into existence in front of him, almost instantly catching and tearing apart the last of the red puppets.

"Not bad," Sasori said.

He shot forward, bursting straight through the tornado and began to assault Ryuu instantly with his propellors, blasts of super-compressed water that sliced through the ground with ease out of his left hand's tube, flames out of his right hand's, and his stomach cable. At the same time as he did that, the last puppet he was controlling began to attack Ryuu with a dozen curved blades on its right arm as well as the iron sand. Ryuu flipped and dodged away from the onslaught, taking to the air just as a massive explosion went off, the concussion slamming into him and launching him out of the way of an iron sand spike, but making his wings fade. Zetsu stared at the massive mushroom cloud it left behind in silence as Sasori continued his assault.

" **Sasori** ," Zetsu finally said, Sasori pausing. " **Go and help Deidara. He's about to lose.** "

Sasori looked to Ryuu again before nodding and turning. Just as he launched himself into the air, however, Ryuu appeared in front of him, a Vacuum Blade over his tanto as he slashed, splitting Sasori in half, taking care to split a small cylindrical object in the left side of Sasori's chest in half, since he could sense Sasori's chakra spreading from it. Sasori's halves crashed to the ground, his other puppet also dropping, and Zetsu stared at Ryuu, who sighed, allowing his Vacuum Blade to fade and drawing his trench knife again.

"You killed him," Zetsu noted. " **Not bad. But you're going to find I've lost patience in fighting you.** "

"Funny," Ryuu said. "I was about to say the same thing."

* * *

Deidara pushed himself out of the ground on the edge of the crater, picking up his Clay Clone and breaking it down into clay again, stuffing it into his pouch. As he watched the mushroom cloud, he couldn't help but grin. If a single dragon had been enough to take off her top and wound her, maybe this one would leave her weak enough for him to actually enjoy her body before turning her over to Zetsu. He grinned even wider at the thought. It had been a while since he got to have fun.

Finally, the smoke and dust began to clear, revealing Fu on her hands and knees, the last of her blood red Version Two Tailed Beast Cloak fading, revealing that the rest of her clothing had indeed been blasted off. Deidara watched as she tried to stand, only to collapse, unable to move again. Deidara smirked, holding out a hand, a clay centipede being spat out of his hand's mouth and expanding, burrowing into the ground before bursting back out of it below Fu, wrapping around her legs and holding them open before coiling around her abdomen to hold her up, then her arms, holding them behind her but far enough away to keep her from forming hand seals. Deidara laughed as Fu struggled weakly to break free, barely able to even hold her head up. He laughed, walking forward and dropping his Akatsuki robe as he did, unzipping the front of his pants.

"Well well," Deidara grinned. "Look at you. The Seven-tails Jinchuriki brought to heel so much that I can actually enjoy myself for a bit while Zetsu and Sasori finish off your boyfriend." He laughed, stepping up to Fu, who began to struggle a little harder to get away. "Oh don't act like you don't want it. Trust me, I'll make sure you at least know what a _real_ man can do before we kill you. You'll love it. Now then, ready or not, here I come."

Before he could, however, sand exploded up from below him, launching him into the air at the same time as ripping the clay centipede apart and throwing the pieces away from Fu, catching her and setting her on the ground. Gaara appeared beside her, draping Deidara's cloak over her for decency before turning to glare at Deidara.

"Well, looks like you're up earlier than I thought you'd be," Deidara said. "I suppose I can deal with you first."

He moved to step forward only for the and below him to explode up around him, binding him in place before completely covering him.

"That's enough of you," Gaara said flatly. "Die. Sand Burial!"

He made a fist, but nothing happened. His eyes widened before the sane began to expand slowly, starting to fall away, revealing Deidara's heavily bloated and grinning face.

"I'm not going alone!" Deidara shouted, erupting into a fireball.

* * *

Ryuu flipped over Zetsu's roots and landed on his feet, streaking forward, slashing his way through them, only for Zetsu's fist to collide with his face. Ryuu flipped backward, suddenly feeling weak as Zetsu's spores began to grow out of him, just as they had when Zetsu had helped Mhao capture him. Ryuu grit his teeth, forming hand seals.

"Fire Style, Blockbuster!" He knelt slamming his hands into the ground, flames exploding out of the ground below him, roasting all of Zetsu's spores, Ryuu flipping into the air, barely able to stay conscious.

"You just sealed your fate," Zetsu said, raising a hand.

Before he could finish Ryuu, however, Might Guy crashed into Zetsu, hurling him away before Tenten caught Ryuu. She handed him a soldier pill and he thanked her, eating it and pushing himself up, looking around. Neji and Lee landed beside him a moment later and Zetsu growled a string of curses, sinking into the ground. Ryuu spun instantly, exploded off of the ground with enough force to shatter it and streaking toward where Gaara had gone to help Fu. He crashed down beside Fu just as Deidara exploded into a fireball. He grabbed Gaara and Fu instantly, noticing that the only thing covering Fu was an Akatsuki cloak. Then, he turned, leaping away from the fireball as it expanded after them rapidly. However, before it could catch them, they passed Kakashi, who formed several hand seals, his Sharingan transforming into a Mangekyo Sharingan, one with a three-bladed shuriken as the main design then a curved line reaching from the top half of each arm clockwise toward the next, shrinking as they went until they reached a point, touching the next arm at the center.

"Kamui!" Kakashi shouted, the fireball beginning to spiral around a single point.

Ryuu stopped, setting Gaara and Fu down, taking care to make sure she was covered again, and watching as a tiny vortex formed in the center of the fireball, the fireball spiraling into it, being swallowed completely. Once it was gone, Kakashi closed his eye and the vortex winked out, Kakashi sighing and falling to one knee.

"Good job," Ryuu said. "I didn't know you could use Mangekyo Sharingan."

"I didn't use it for a long time, so it took me a while to remember how to activate it," Kakashi said. "Longer to remember how to use it."

Ryuu nodded as the rest of Team Kakashi landed around him, Naruto landing beside Gaara, asking him if he was okay. As they talked, Ryuu picked up Fu again, using the Body Flicker Technique to get somewhere private and setting Fu down, helping her sit up and pulling the cloak onto her arms, fastening it so that it covered her properly.

"What happened?" Ryuu asked, beginning to tend to her wounds.

"He caught me off guard, twice," Fu said. "His clay packs a hell of a punch. I wasn't able to block it fully, so it ruined my clothes, and I wasn't able to move. If Gaara hadn't shown up...he would have..."

She fell silent, Ryuu clenching his hands into fists before taking a steadying breath.

"I'm sorry," Ryuu said. "I shouldn't have let you fight him alone."

"It's alright," Fu smiled. "He wasn't able to do anything, and now he's dead."

"No," Ryuu said. "It was a clone that exploded. Deidara's too smart to get caught by Gaara that easy."

"So, he's still around?" Fu asked, a hint of fear creeping into her voice.

"No," Ryuu said. "Like I said, he's smart. He knows he can't beat us all, so he'll have taken off. Zetsu got away too, but I killed Sasori."

Fu nodded. "Are you okay?"

"For the moment, yes," Ryuu said. "But I'm sure I'll have trouble sleeping tonight."

Fu nodded as Ryuu finished healing her and sat up, kissing him. "I love you."

"I love you too," Ryuu said, pulling her to her feet.

He turned, allowing her to climb onto his back before heading back to the others, walking slowly. Just as he stepped out of the trees, he stopped seeing a massive group of Hidden Sand Shinobi arrived, several sprinting ahead of the rest to greet Gaara, including Temari, Kankuro, and Matsuri. Ryuu smiled as Matsuri met Gaara with a flying hug, Gaara smiling and hugging her back. Fu gave Ryuu a slight squeeze and he started walking again.

"We're going to get them together, right?" Fu asked.

"Of course," Ryuu smiled. "All jinchuriki need someone who accepts them without question. And for Gaara, that's Matsuri."

Fu smiled and nodded, remaining silent as they walked the rest of the way over to the others. Ryuu stopped beside Gaara, who looked over at them and nodded.

"Thank you, Gaara," Ryuu said. "Fu told me what happened. I can't thank you enough."

"You don't need to," Gaara said. "I owed you for getting me out of that cave. Let's just call this even."

Ryuu nodded and looked to Kakashi. "So, now what?"

"We'll head back to the Hidden Sand for now," Kakashi said. "Something tells me the two of you are going to need to rest for a while. You did all the hard work, after all. I'll send a report to Tsunade once we get there. You two should each probably do the same."

Ryuu nodded and they all turned, heading back toward the Hidden Sand, the Suna shinobi cycling through to express their gratitude to the Hidden Leaf Shinobi and their relief at Gaara being safe to Gaara.

* * *

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	92. Chapter 92

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Day Off

Ryuu set Fu on the bedroll inside of their tent, then lay beside her, sighing quietly, Fu rolling over to rest her head on his shoulder. They had stayed in the Hidden Sand just long enough for an initial report to be sent to Tsunade, and for Fu to change into a new set of clothes rather than her borrowed Akatsuki cloak, then had left with the others, traveling back to the Hidden Leaf on foot. It had taken some convincing, but finally, Guy had agreed to not turn it into a race and they had all stopped to rest about halfway between.

"Guy's going to be the death of me," Ryuu said. "I can barely stand right now."

"You hide it well, though," Fu smiled, one hand tracing designs on his abdomen, having pushed his shirt up out of the way to do it. "Can we take some time off when we get back?"

"Barring finding Mhao's hideout, yes, we can," Ryuu smiled. "Finally."

Fu smiled, reaching up and kissing him before setting her head back down and closing her eyes. "I can't wait to get home."

"Neither can I," Ryuu smiled. "I think I'm going to sleep for a few days."

"I hope you do," Fu smiled. "That would mean you didn't have any nightmares."

Ryuu smiled. "That's true." He closed his eyes, praying for forgiveness, once again, for killing Sasori, then opened them, looking down at Fu, who was watching him in silence. "What?"

"I love you," Fu smiled. "Don't ever leave me."

Ryuu smiled. "Never. I told you. You couldn't get rid of me if you begged me."

Fu smiled, kissing him again before setting her head down and allowing the steady beating of his heart to lull her to sleep. Ryuu sighed, closing his eyes and drifting off as well, fortunately not dreaming anything. The next day, they packed up camp and made the rest of the trip back to the Hidden Leaf Village. They reached the village as the sun was beginning to set and all reported to Tsunade's office. They gave her a brief description of what had happened, then Tsunade dismissed everyone but Ryuu and Fu.

"Now, tell me what happened," Tsunade said. "Everything."

Ryuu went first, describing them learning the Water Mosquito jutsu and using it to save Kankuro, then for their effort to turn out to be wasted as Sakura arrived just as they finished. Then he explained about their trip to the hideout, and about how he had saved Gaara from the sealing jutsu. Next, he described his fight with Sasori, then Zetsu. Once he was finished that, Fu described her fight with Deidara and about Gaara saving her, leaving out the fact that Deidara had almost raped her. Once she was done, Ryuu described how the battle had ended and then gave a brief description of their uneventful trip back to the Hidden Sand and the entirety of the Hidden Sand Village having been waiting to welcome Gaara back.

"Okay," Tsunade said. "So Deidara survived?"

"I'm almost sure of it," Ryuu said.

"Very well," Tsunade nodded. "How likely is it that Sasori is replaced soon?"

"Highly," Ryuu said. "I actually have a guess at who's going to do it."

"Who?" Tsunade asked.

"A guy with an orange spiraled mask that looks like Tobi's face, probably going by the name Tobi," Ryuu said.

"Who is he?" Tsunade asked.

"An Uchiha who had deserted the village prior to Itachi slaughtering the clan," Ryuu said. "I think he may also have helped Itachi kill everyone, but I'm not sure."

"How dangerous is he?" Tsunade asked.

"Extremely," Ryuu said. "Arguably the most dangerous out of the entire Akatsuki. Definitely top two, alongside the wielder of the Rinnegan."

Tsunade nodded. "Does Tobi know anything about the Akatsuki's next move?"

"No," Ryuu said. "So far they're just trying to track down the Jinchuriki and Tailed Beasts, probably starting with those who are easier to catch."

"I'll send word to the Hidden Cloud Village," Tsunade said. "They have two Jinchuriki. Aside from them, the Three-tails is missing, the Hidden Stone's Jinchuriki are both missing, and the Hidden Mist Village's Jinchuriki deserted his village."

Ryuu nodded. "If nothing else, they'll never get Fu or Naruto. And now that Gaara's aware that they're on the move and of how powerful they are, he won't be captured again either, barring the leader himself attacking."

Tsunade nodded. "Ryuu, you know that the leader will inevitably come to the Hidden Leaf after Naruto, right?"

"Yes," Ryuu said. "I'm well aware."

"Try to get everyone ready," Tsunade said. "You've fought five different members now. You're the best informed about what we'll be up against."

"I'll do my best," Ryuu said. "But I can't promise anything. Also, me and Fu are taking a few days off, unless Mhao is found."

Tsunade nodded and Ryuu turned, walking out of the office with Fu, both heading home, greeting Yugao as they entered, finding Yugao had just finished dinner for everyone, and Tayuya had already returned to the house and was helping her set the table. Ryuu and Fu washed up and sat at the table just as Yugao and Tayuya finished, also sitting down.

"Everyone dig in," Yugao smiled. "You've earned it."

Ryuu nodded, smiling, and they all began to eat, all giving brief descriptions of their parts in the mission as they ate, Yugao describing her mission to them as well. Finally, they all finished and Ryuu and Fu cleared the table and cleaned the dishes. Then, they went to bed, falling asleep quickly.

* * *

Ryuu sighed contentedly as he floated in the hot spring, Fu lying on his chest. One of her hands was in his, their fingers laced, and the other was lazily combing its fingers through his hair, his own free one stroking gently up and down her back. Ryuu had finally gotten his hair cut, leaving it short like his brother had always worn it again, and hd gone back to wearing his usual clothes and the harness his brother had given him, rather than the flak. At least, when he wasn't in the hot spring.

"Why can't we just be rich enough to retire and live like this?" Fu asked.

"Because even if we were rich enough there's no guarantee we'd be able to stand living like this," Ryuu said. "Not while our friends are out there risking their lives."

"I could," Fu said, looking up at him. "As long as you were there, I could live like this."

Ryuu smiled and kissed her before setting his head back, returning to relaxing and stroking her back. Fu's fingers continued to gently run through his hair and Ryuu sighed again. After a fe minutes, Fu shifted her hips slightly to get more comfortable. After a couple of seconds, she shifted them again. Then again. Ryuu's hand stopped and when Fu shifted her hips yet again, his hand pressed on her lower back, partially for more friction and partially to stop her moving.

"Fu," Ryuu said knowingly.

"What?" Fu asked. "She's not here."

"She will be soon," Ryuu said. "She only went to the store."

"Then we'll have to make it quick," Fu smiled, kissing him, pressing her hips down into his harder as she rolled them, only for Ryuu to drop his hips, sitting up and pulling back from the kiss.

"I'm serious Fu," Ryuu said. "I'm sorry, but no."

Fu sighed, nodding. "Sorry."

Ryuu sighed, kissing her for a moment before pulling back. "Don't be. You just make it really hard to control myself sometimes."

Fu smiled and nodded, giving him a quick kiss before Ryuu tipped backward, beginning to float with her again, Fu feeling exactly how hard he was struggling this time. After about another fifteen minutes, Yugao stepped into the hot spring and set her towel on the table off to the side. Ryuu cracked an eye open, glancing at her as she leaned back against the side of the hot spring and spread her arms out to the sides, sighing in comfort and watching them. Ryuu smirked, rolling his eyes behind his eyelids.

"How was your day?" Ryuu asked.

"Very nice, thank you," Yugao smiled. "What did you do all day?"

"You're looking at it," Ryuu snorted. "I'm on vacation. I'm spending it doing absolutely nothing."

Yugao smiled and nodded. "Good. you've more than earned a vacation."

Ryuu settled back in to float and after a few minutes, Fu drifted off to sleep. After a few more minutes, Ryuu realized he was also falling asleep when his eyes dipped under water. He stood, scooping up Fu and drying her with chakra before walking out of the pool.

"We're going to take a nap," Ryuu said. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Yugao said.

Ryuu dried himself as he walked, heading to bed and slipping Fu under the covers before sliding in beside her. She almost instantly rolled over to face him as he was on his side, cuddling into his chest. He smiled, wrapping himself around her, kissing the top of her head. She cuddled a little closer to his warmth and he smiled, closing his eyes and drifting off.

* * *

Mhao laughed as Ryuu thrashed against the chains. He leaned against the wall of the cave and watched Ryuu in silence for several minutes before pushing off of it, walking over to Fu, lifting her head by her green hair, exposing the blackened eyes, shattered nose, split lip, and swollen cheeks.

"Another one you could have saved," Mhao smirked. "So many dead friends. Do you even have the capacity to feel loss anymore?"

Ryuu thrashed against his shackles, fighting to break through the chakra seals on them as well as carved into his torso.

"It really will be a shame to lose this one, though," Mhao said, his free hand reaching up to her upper arm, trailing up to her neck. "Such a pretty face, whenever it's not damaged."

He shoved his thumb into her eye, gouging it out as she screamed. Ryuu screamed, shoving against the chakra seals for all he was worth, failing to do anything but give himself a headache. Mhao laughed, hand trailing down to her marred and bloodied breasts, squeezing them harshly, fingers digging into the gashes the whip and knife had left, Fu again screaming. Then, Mhao's hand trailed downward, taking care to drag over every wound he could easily reach before reaching her core, where he had mercilessly whipped her for at least twenty minutes during the last torture session. He shoved two fingers into her, Fu screaming in agony and Ryuu yanked against his chains, sobbing now as he fought to break free. Mhao smirked, turning away from Ryuu and opening the front of his pants.

"You may want to look away for this part, Mhao said, lifting and turning Fu so that Ryuu was able to see as Mhao shoved himself into her, Fu screaming in agony yet again.

Ryuu screamed, shoving and pulling for all he was worth. However, nothing worked. He couldn't move.

"Oh, and Ryuu," Mhao smirked, turning toward him. "WAKE UP! ! !"

* * *

Ryuu's eyes flew open and he moved to leap out of bed, to kill the homunculus that he knew should be in front of him, however he still couldn't move. He fought to break free of the shackles, but then fell still as Fu filled his vision, completely unharmed, but eyes wide with terror and concern.

"Ryuu!" Fu shouted over his screaming, which he only just realized he was doing. "It's me! It's okay!"

Ryuu fell silent, panting and gasping, eyes wide and flicking around, taking in reality. He was in their room. He wasn't chained to a cave. lines of seal script were holding him to the bed posts. Suddenly the door flew open and he jerked, head snapping around to it, only to see Yugao and Tayuya, both of whom stared at them in confusion.

"W...what..." Ryuu looked back to Fu, slowly managing to calm himself.

"You were having a nightmare," Fu said, tears running down her face. "One second you were talking to yourself, then you bound your own hands and feet before beginning to thrash and scream."

"Are you okay?" Yugao asked.

Ryuu managed to nod and Yugao nodded as well, hesitating before leaving. After a moment, Tayuya followed, closing the door. Ryuu released his restraints, forcing his breathing and heart to slow, sitting up and hugging Fu, beginning to sob as she did the same. After a few minutes, Ryuu managed to calm himself most of the way, drying his face before gently running his hand over Fu's back, Fu starting to calm down.

"What happened?" Fu asked. "You've never done that before."

"I think...the seals were for your protection," Ryuu said. "I was dreaming that Mhao had captured us both, chained us to the wall of a cave, and he as forcing me to watch as he tortured and raped you."

Fu stared at him before pressing her forehead to his. "That will never happen. Mhao isn't that powerful. And even if he was, I know you would never let anyone do that to me."

Ryuu nodded, trying to finish calming himself. After a minute, Fu kissed him, Ryuu kissing her back instantly. After several seconds, however, she pulled back, smiling.

"Try to get some rest," Fu said. "I'll wake you up if you have another nightmare."

Ryuu nodded, laying back down, Fu laying with her head on his chest. Ryuu lay there in silence, waiting for sleep to find him for almost an hour before Fu reached up, combing her fingers through his hair and quickly relaxing him until he fell asleep again, more peacefully, this time.

* * *

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	93. Chapter 93

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Down Time

Ryuu watched as the clouds passed overhead. Fu lay on his chest, hand combing through his hair, but he barely noticed. His mind was fixed solely on his nightmare. And she knew it, too. She had done everything in her power to try to distract him from it, but it refused to leave his mind.

"Let's go out to eat," Fu said after a while. "We haven't gotten to go to Ichiraku's for a while, so let's go there."

Ryuu looked down at her and smiled, nodding. "Sure."

She smiled, pulling him up, then slipped her hand into his. They waked through the streets together, reaching Ichiraku's in a few minutes, both ordering the usual. As they waited, Naruto sat beside them, grinning widely as Ichiraku set a bowl down for him at the same time as Ryuu and Fu.

"I hear yours is pretty hungry," Naruto said, smirking as Fu grinned knowingly.

"I bet I can eat more," Fu grinned.

"Loser pays for all three," Ryuu said. "But, for the record, I'm not competing."

Naruto and Fu both grinned and nodded.

"This aught to be good," Ryuu sighed. "Teuchi, you better get ready to run out of food."

Teuchi chuckled, starting more noodles as Naruto and Fu began to eat rapidly. Ryuu sighed, eating his at a normal pace, watching as the bowls began to pile up around Fu and Naruto. Finally, they both stopped, Naruto having eaten a single bowl more than Fu.

"Damn," Ryuu said, looking at the two towers of dishes. "You two are unreal."

Fu shrugged, smiling, and payed for their food. "That was fun, Naruto. Now, you're going to come with us to burn all of that off."

Naruto paled and Ryuu grinned widely.

"It's been a while," Ryuu mused. "How's your swordplay been coming Naruto?"

"Um...it's...coming," Naruto said.

Ryuu laughed. "We'll see."

The three of them headed to the Third Training Ground and Ryuu unsealed a ninjato from a scroll and placed a seal on it to dull the blade. Then, he turned, tossing it to Naruto, who caught it and swallowed hard. As he did, Ryuu turned toward him, drawing his tanto and placing the same seal on it.

"Ready?" Ryuu asked.

"No," Naruto said.

Ryuu smirked, exhaling a Vacuum Blade onto his tanto, keeping it dull as well, then stepped forward, slashing at Naruto. Naruto blocked the blade and shoved it aside, slashing back at Ryuu. Ryuu stepped out of range, then stepped forward again, stabbing at Naruto. Naruto stepped to the side, batting the blade aside with his own, eyes wide as he prepared himself again. Ryuu raised an eyebrow. For having clearly not practiced with a sword since the last time Ryuu had trained him, he seemed to have retained the training well. Ryuu stepped forward, attacking Naruto faster, Naruto struggling to fend him of for a moment before beginning to pick back up on what he was doing, his muscles seeming to remember what Ryuu had taught him. Finally, Naruto stepped past a stab and slashed at Ryuu, who flipped backward, barely avoiding the slash and landing on his feet beside Fu, smirking.

"Good," Ryuu smiled. "You retain training well. How's your Taijutsu?"

Naruto stabbed the sword into the ground and Ryuu let his vacuum Blade fade, sheathing his tanto as Fu stepped forward, grinning. Both charged and began to fight, Fu rapidly beating Naruto into the ground. He pushed himself up, trying again and again proving himself to be horrendously under trained at Taijutsu. Finally, Fu sighed, letting him up and beginning to train him, Naruto picking it up quickly. After a while of her teaching Naruto, Ryuu walked over, replacing Fu and beginning to spar with Naruto. Naruto was much better this time, but was still unable to land a hit on Ryuu. Finally, Ryuu let him stop, Naruto coated in sweat and panting. Ryuu smiled.

"You did well," Ryuu nodded. "You're a quick study."

"Th...Thanks," Naruto panted. "You're...a good...teacher."

Ryuu smiled and nodded, turning back to Fu, who was lounging on a branch. He jumped up in front of her, landing in a crouch and raising an eyebrow. "Comfortable?"

"Very," Fu smiled. "Would you care to join me?"

Ryuu smiled and shook his head. Fu sighed, then hurled a kunai at Ryuu, who flipped off the branch, landing on his feet before leaping away from the tree, Fu crashing down where he had been, cratering the ground. Ryuu grinned, readying himself before Fu shot forward, drilling a punch at him, only for Ryuu to block it, activating his Sharingan before the two began to trade blows, both blocking or dodging everything the other threw at them. It had been a long time since they had trained. Ryuu had missed it. The part he hadn't missed came about five minutes later when she suddenly sidestepped a punch and began to beat him senseless. Finally, she jumped, kicking him away and he crashed into a tree, groaning.

"Okay," Ryuu sighed. "I give up. I can't fight you."

"That's because you can't fight me with the intent to kill," Fu said.

"What, and you can?" Ryuu asked.

"No," Fu said. "But I know that even if I don't hold back, you can take it."

Ryuu sighed, then pushed himself up, wiping some sweat off of his forehead. "Alright, I need a shower. See you back at the house."

Fu nodded, smiling and gave him a quick kiss before he turned, heading home. When he got there, he headed up to his room, noticing the house was empty, and pulled his shirt off, staring into the room's mirror, left hand reaching up to trail his fingers along the seam running down his torso. Disgust began to well up inside of him. He was a monster. Inhuman. He didn't deserve to be with Fu. He didn't deserve to have survived everything he had. He didn't deserve so many second chances. He had murdered so many people. His hands were stained so red with blood that he should be drowning in it. He should have died so long ago. When he fought Hidan and Kakuzu. When he fought in Orochimaru's arena. When he fought Orochimaru in the Chunin Exams. Hell, if he was being honest, the world would be better off if he had died when Itachi slaughtered the rest of the clan. Finally, Ryuu sighed, walking into the bathroom and getting in the shower, letting the warm water run over him as he stood in silence, staring down at his hands. So inhuman. A freak.

He was pulled out of his thoughts suddenly as a pair of arms wrapped around his abdomen, pulling him back against their owner. Fu placed a gentle kiss on the back of his shoulder.

"You're still you," Fu said. "Just like you've always been. Having this," she slipped her hand into his right one, lacing their fingers, "doesn't make you anything you weren't before. You are what you have always been. And nothing will ever change that."

Ryuu was silent but sighed heavily, leaning back against Fu. He tilted his head against hers as she rested her chin on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I know it's hard for you to see me this way. I don't mean to worry you."

"Don't worry abut me," Fu said. "As long as you're with me, I'm happy. I promise you, I'll help you feel human again."

Ryuu smiled and nodded, turning around and kissing her. She kissed him back and slipped her hand into his right one again. They remained there for a long while before Ryuu pulled away, resting his forehead against hers. She smiled, closing her eyes and remaining silent. He studied her face, able to see her concern, and her pain, but also able to see her love, even without being able to see her eyes. It was in her posture, the way the skin under her eyes was starting to darken, the slightly pinker skin in two lines leading down her cheeks a couple inches from the outside corners of her eyes.

After another moment, he leaned in again, kissing her. She kidded him back, but then gasped as she felt his tongue trail across her lip. He slipped his tongue into her mouth and her own met it, their tongues beginning to dance. After several more minutes, his hand slipped out of hers and slid up her arm, moving to begin massaging her breast, his other hand moving to her free breast. Fu moaned, then pulled away, catching his hands.

"Wait," she said. "I...I don't want you to feel like you have to."

"I don't," Ryuu said. "I want to do this. I want to be with you."

Fu smiled and nodded, kissing him again, allowing him to continue.

* * *

Ryuu gently trailed his right hand up and down Fu's upper arm, staring up at the ceiling. Fu shifted slightly sighing contentedly and gently pressed a kiss to the right side of his chest before setting her chin on his chest, smiling up at him.

"I love you," Fu smiles.

"I love you too," Ryuu smiles. "How do you stay with you?"

Sadness filled Fu's features. "None of that was your fault. And if any of it had never happened, you could never have saved my life when Hidan and Kakuzu caught me. It may not have been good that it happened, and it will always be tragic, but it doesn't make you a bad person, and it made you strong."

Ryuu smiled and nodded, reaching down and kissing her before setting his head back down.

"And for the record, that new hand of yours feels amazing," Fu grinned, Ryuu rolling his eyes.

"You're terrible," Ryuu chuckled. "I think our time off might end soon."

"Really?" Fu asked. "Why?"

"It's just a feeling I'm getting," Ryuu said.

Fu nodded, then sat up, shifting to straddle his waist, letting the blankets fall into a heap behind her. "Then I guess we should make the most of it."

I smile, shaking my head. "You're insatiable."

She smiles, lining my member up with her entrance and lowering herself onto it, moaning. "I'm just doing my part to make sure your body's rehab isn't regressing."

I laugh, then groan as she begins to move.

* * *

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	94. Chapter 94

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Found

Ryuu opened his eyes as someone knocked on his door. He groaned, pulling Fu tighter and tried to force himself back to sleep, only for the knock to sound again. When he again ignored it, whoever it was began to pound on the door continuously. Finally Ryuu groaned.

"Alright already!" he shouted. "Give me a fucking minute!" He lay there for another two seconds and the pounding began again. "They're dead."

"Just go," Fu sighed. "They won't go away."

Ryuu sighed and climbed out of bed, pulling on a black shirt and shorts, walking down the stairs and opening the door, giving the ANBU standing there a death glare. "What the fuck do you want? I'm on vacation."

"Lady Hokage sent me," the ANBU said. "Kabuto found the Homunculus facility."

"Mhao," Ryuu growled, sighing. "I see. Thank you for telling me. Tell Tsunade we'll be there soon."

The ANBU nodded and left and Ryuu turned, heading back up to his and Fu's room, finding her already dressed and lifting her scroll onto her back. He pulled on his tanto's harness, then his ninja tool pouch and his kunai pouch. Once he'd finished, he sighed heavily.

"I...don't want to do this," Ryuu said.

"We have to," Fu said. "He's a threat that needs to be dealt with finally. We can't let him become a threat again."

Ryuu sighed, nodding. "You're right. As usual."

Fu smiled and slipped her hand into his. "I'll be right there beside you."

Ryuu nodded and they walked out of the house and headed to Tsunade's office. Ryuu knocked on the door, and after several seconds, it opened, Kabuto nodding to them as they stepped inside.

"There you are," Tsunade said. "I'm sorry for interrupting your vacation."

"It's alright," Ryuu sighed. "I was expecting it. Where it is?"

"It's in the Land of Ogres," Tsunade said. "Deep in the forest."

"I see," Ryuu nodded. "Who am I taking?"

"Who do you need?" Tsunade asked.

"My team," Ryuu said. "Minus Yugao. I'm not forcing her into a fight. I'll also need Kabuto, Suigetsu, Karin, and anyone you've got who's excellent at genjutsu."

"I've got just the one," Tsunade smiled. "You remember Yakumo Kurama?"

"Yeah," Ryuu said. "The girl with the terrifyingly strong Genjutsu powers."

"She's been cleared as a genjutsu now, after having trained under Might Guy and Rock Lee," Tsunade said.

"Really?" Ryuu asked, eyebrows rising. "Impressive. I'll take her."

Tsunade nodded, adding the names Ryuu had chosen to a scroll in front of her and handed it to him, allowing him to scan it with his Sharingan before passing it to Fu.

"And take Tobi with you," Tsunade said. "I don't want that thing in the village unattended to."

Ryuu nodded and left the room with Fu and Kabuto, all of them scattering to gather the others, Ryuu also getting Yomo. Then, they all gathered up at the front gate, waiting for everyone to arrive. Somehow, Yakumo was the first. She had grown over the years, her breasts developing to C-cups, her body filling out into an hourglass, and her outfit had changed to a short purple dress with a thick cloth around her abdomen and tied into a bow n her back, a short left sleeve and a long right one, and the hair framing the left side of her face in a braid that hung down in front of her shoulder.

The next to show up was Karin, who wore the same outfit as always, with Suigetsu just behind her, Zabuza's sword on his back. Then, came Tayuya, who had been in the hot spring when Ryuu had come to collect her.

"You took your time," Ryuu grumbled.

"I had to make sure my things were ready for this fucker," Tayuya said. "I assume our vacation being cut short means that it's Mhao, finally."

"That's right," Ryuu nodded. "For those of you who don't know, Mhao is an artificial being created by Orochimaru who recreates himself every time he's formed, making himself stronger and better every time. He's been hounding me for years, but recently he stopped attacking. Either he's been working on an exceptionally powerful version of himself, or he's been working on multiple of himself. Either way, our job is to find his base and destroy it, that way he can never be a threat again."

Everyone nodded.

"Expect a very difficult and dangerous fight," Fu said. "Especially you, Suigetsu. He's a fire type."

"Lovely," Suigetsu sighed. "Anything else we should know?"

"He knows the Fire Style Uroboros," Ryuu said, Kabuto and Suigetsu staring at him in surprise.

"What's that?" Yakumo asked.

"It's a Fire Style Jutsu that takes the form of a massive fire snake that grows stronger the more it consumes, and it can consume anything, including itself. It's also self-sustaining, even in the event of the user's death, making it essentially alive."

"How do we stop something like that?" Tayuya asked.

"Very painfully," Ryuu said. "If it comes to it, I'll deal with it, but try not to give him the chance to use it."

The others nodded and Ryuu sighed. Then, he checked his gear one last time before leaving, the others all following, Yomo flying along above them. They travelled in silence, no one speaking and everyone watching for anyone, or anything, to try and interfere. However, as timed passed, they found nothing. Finally, they crossed the border of the Land of Ogres and Kabuto took the lead. Ryuu extended his senses and began to search for any sign of Mhao. However, try as he might, he could sense nothing. Finally, Kabuto stopped high in a tree, the others landing around him.

"It's there," Kabuto said quietly, pointing to a crack in a cliff. "We don't know what's inside, but we have to expect the worst."

"Agreed," Ryuu nodded. "I'll go in first with Fu. Then Kabuto and Tayuya, then Suigetsu and Karin. Suigetsu, I'm stressing that this is a stealth mission for now. Don't get caught."

"I won't," Suigetsu said.

"What about me?" Yakumo asked.

"And me?" Tobi asked.

"Tobi, you'll be doing what you do best," Ryuu said. "You'll keep an eye on things and pass messages as needed. You're not to reveal your presence or attack. Yakumo, you'll be going with Karin and Suigetsu, since their team is the most vulnerable in this situation."

"Understood," Yakumo nodded.

Ryuu nodded and turned back to the front, activating his transparency jutsu, Fu doing the same beside him. They slipped into the hideout and silently began to explore, sticking together as they did. The first floor had rows upon rows of stasis tanks, all standing empty and dark. The room was about six three hundred yards by three hundred yards, and was absolutely filled with tanks. However, Ryuu didn't sense anything in the room, and as they walked through the room, they found nothing.

"Tobi," Ryuu whispered.

"Yes?" Tobi's voice whispered back.

"Tell Kabuto to search this room when he comes in," Ryuu said.

Tobi agreed and his face sank back into the floor. Ryuu and Fu continued, walking on in silence until they reached a staircase. The hideout was built the same way as one of Orochimaru's, except instead of a scaled pattern, all of the walls were decorated with blue in a flame pattern. It made Ryuu extremely uncomfortable, because he kept having to remind himself that he wasn't actually being attacked by Mhao's flames. Yet.

The next floor down was an arena identical to the one Ryuu had been imprisoned in. He grit his teeth and clenched his fists as he saw it, stopping and having to fight to suppress his memories. Fu's hand closed around his and she cupped his face, pressing her lips to his.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," Ryuu said. "Just brought back a lot of unpleasant memories."

Fu nodded, giving his hand a light squeeze and he uncurled his fist, slipping his fingers between hers as they quickly crossed the arena and out the other side, finding themselves in a passageway. They walked through it in silence, soon finding themselves at a fork. Ryuu extended his senses as he looked around, but there was no sign of anything nearby. They turned left, walking along the path for abut three minutes before stopping at a door decorated with a massive flaming snake. Ryuu passed into the door, looking around on the far side before stepping out of it and pulling it open for Fu. The room was empty and was decorated with medicine, chemicals, specimens in jars, and a large stasis tank with something growing inside of it. It was a huge mass of white flesh, but Ryuu was getting a bad feeling about it.

"What is this?" Fu whispered.

"Something that's about to die," Ryuu said, resting a hand on the glass.

Seal script began to flow from his hand, sinking into the tank before floating to the mass, then wrapped around it before flashing red and fading, the thing separating anywhere the seal script had been, the water quickly staining red with blood, growing too murky to see through. Ryuu and Fu turned, quickly leaving the room, closing the door behind them, and followed the hallway again, reaching the fork again and following it down the other hallway. After about another fifteen minutes, they reached a winding stairway. They followed it down, walking around and around in circles for minutes. Finally, the stairway opened up on the ground floor of a massive chamber with pillars spaced throughout it, the ceiling too high to see, torches spread seemingly at random among the pillars, leaving some in shadow, and a throne at the far end. Seated in the throne was Mhao, just as young as ever. His sword rested across his lap, but he seemed to be sleeping.

"You're too early," a male voice said from all around them.

"We won't let you harm the Master," a female one said.

Suddenly, four more homunculus landed in front of Mhao. One was female, wearing a light blue kimono with her snow white hair swept forward over her left shoulder, her blood red eyes glaring at them, and a khakkhara in her hands. Another was male with his hair reaching almost to his feet and with a set of bracelets that had three double-edged blades reaching past his fists. Each bracelet seemed to have a handle for him to hold onto. The other two males were identical. Both were hulking behemoths with snow-colored skin, bald heads, blood red eyes, and a pair of enormous weapons. One held a Warhammer almost as big as his gigantic body, and the other held a greatsword that was longer than he was tall and as broad as Ryuu's entire torso.

"This might be a problem," Ryuu said as he and Fu became visible again.

Just then, Tobi rose out of the ground with all of the others.

"I searched the rest of the hideout, and it's empty," Tobi said. "This is everyone."

"And that first room was completely empty, except for a research log that had been abandoned," Kabuto said. "It seems that your old friend there is trying to gain access to a very ancient and dangerous power. We need to stop him right now."

"Understood," Ryuu nodded. "Suigetsu and I will handle the big ones. Fu, Kabuto, the other two. Karin, you're keeping an eye out for reinforcements, Akatsuki, or Zetsu. Yakumo, reinforce as needed."

The others all nodded and they charged, Ryuu drawing his tanto as Suigetsu drew his sword. Suigetsu charged at the one wielding the sword, so Ryuu exhaled a Vacuum Blade onto his sword and headed for the one with the hammer. Ryuu dropped, sliding as the hammer flashed over him then stood and slashed, splitting the guy's torso open, only for the guy to leap backward, healing almost instantly. A moment later, the one with the sword sent Suigetsu bouncing across the floor, his own sword through his gut, though his body around it was water.

Ryuu spun, blocking the larger one's greatsword and the ground below him cratered, his arms screaming in protest as he fought to hold back the massive homunculus's blade. Finally, he shoved it to the side, allowing it to crash to the ground and crater it more as he jumped, drilling his right knee into the homunculus's chin, sending him staggering backward. He landed on his feet and spun, blocking a backhanded slash by the one with claws, able to hold this one back relatively easily. He looked past the homunculus, seeing Kabuto kneeling on the ground, healing his side. Ryuu heard a very large land behind himself and shoved the claws away, using the Body Flicker Technique to vanish, reappearing beside Kabuto, seeing that he was hurt pretty bad.

"He's crafty," Kabuto said. "I believe I may have underestimated him."

"It's fine," Ryuu said, twirling his tanto once. "I'll take them both!" Then, he shot forward, beginning to flicker as three more stepped out of him.

They reached the one with claws instantly and he slashed at one, his claws passing through Ryuu before he spun, claws deflecting two slashes, then two more. He jumped as one of the Ryuus slashed at his legs, then flipped and spun, slashing through all four harmlessly. One of the Ryuus spun while he was in the air and slammed a windmill kick into his gut, sending him blasting into the hammer homunculus, both crashing into the wall behind them. Then, Ryuu spun, bracing his Vacuum Blade with his free hand just as the greatsword crashed into it. He sailed across the room, crashing into the wall just before Suigetsu bisected that homunculus across the torso. Then, the Homunculus's halves sprouted strands of white goo that instantly stitched it back together before he spun, slashing at Suigetsu. Suigetsu moved to block the strike, but the greatsword exploded straight through Suigetsu's splitting him in half.

Ryuu charged, ducking under a slash from the greatsword, only to vanish as the homunculus's torso exploded and the clawed homunculus burst out of it, slashing through where Ryuu had been a moment before. Ryuu, now behind the pair, spun, forming hand seals rapidly.

"Fire Style, Dragon Flame Bomb!" He exhaled a wall of flames into the pair, both of whom screamed in pain and collapsed, the flames engulfing them.

Ryuu caught his tanto and turned just in time for Fu to appear in front of him, slamming the female into the hammer's head with enough force to deflect a swipe from it, saving Ryuu while also turning the female homunculus's head into paste. She tossed the body aside, then leapt into the air at the same time as Ryuu, the greatsword passing under them.

"Jesus," Ryuu growled, both hovering in the air with their wings and watching as the female stood, head reforming. "What are they, immortal?"

"This is going to be a problem," Fu said.

"Ninja Art, Chains of Fantasia!" Tayuya said, beginning to play her flute.

All four of the enemies suddenly went rigid and Ryuu and Fu dropped to the ground, quickly moving in. Ryuu placed a gravity seal at ten times their weight on each, along with a paralysis seal, then jumped back and Tayuya let her music end, keeping the flute ready.

"Not bad," the woman said. "But still not good enough. Ban, Khan."

Both of the stronger Homunculus began to grow even more, both roaring in pain and anger. Then, the paralysis seals burst off of them and they shot forward. Ryuu cursed, leaping backward while deactivating their gravity seals so that they couldn't use the higher weight for stronger attacks. Instead, they vanished, reappearing behind Tayuya and slashing downward. Tayuya gasped, raising her arms to shield herself, and a barrier appeared, deflecting both strikes. The barrier glowed violet, and Yakumo walked over with her hand extended. She lowered her hand and the barrier faded. Then, she swung another hand and the ground below the two erupted, lava coating them.

"This won't last long," Yakumo said. "Kill Mhao before he waked up and helps them!"

Ryuu turned, taking a step forward, only for the remaining two to appear in front of him, slashing. He blocked their weapons as Fu shot past him, drawing her own tanto as she neared Mhao. However, as she slashed, his hand rose, catching hers. She planted her feet, trying to leap away, but his grip wouldn't budge.

"You're too late," the female grinned. "He has risen."

"You four," Mhao said. "You did well."

Fu drew her silver kunai and severed Mhao's arm, leaping away and tossing it aside, the hand having left a dark purple handprint. However, white goo flowed from Mhao's stump and reformed into his hand as he stood slowly, the other four Homunculus landing in sets f two n either side of him, all kneeling, the two larger ones with their burns finishing sealing. Ryuu glanced back at Yakumo and saw that she was breathing hard and had a gash in one shoulder, a kunai in each hand, but she was otherwise unharmed. And Kabuto had finished healing himself, turning to quickly heal Yakumo's shoulder.

"Kabuto, what power was Mhao after?" Ryuu asked.

"Why bother asking the traitor?" Mhao asked. "I'll show you myself."

He lifted his sword and blue flames began to roll along the blade instantly. Ryuu swallowed, letting his Vacuum Blade fade and drawing his trench knife. However, as he did, the large one with the greatsword shot forward. He flipped over the blade, using his trench knife to deflect it downward before flipping, driving his tanto down into the homunculus's head in reverse grip. He formed the seal of confrontation with his left hand and the homunculus began to swell, choking and eyes bulging for a moment before his body began to glow orange. Ryuu vanished and the others all scattered less than a second before the homunculus exploded, white paste splattering over the room. Then, the goo all shot through the air, spiraling back into the homunculus once again. Ryuu growled in annoyance.

"What the hell is going on here?" Ryuu snarled.

"Something must be keeping them functioning," Kabuto said. "My guess is Mhao."

Ryuu nodded in agreement just as Tobi rose out of the ground, face turned toward the five homunculus.

"What is it Tobi?" Ryuu asked.

"I had to detach from the ground for a bit," Tobi said. "Zetsu was starting to notice me."

"Okay," Ryuu nodded. "Any idea what to do in this situation?"

Tobi shook his head. Ryuu glanced at the others, all of them also shaking their head.

"Great," Ryuu sighed. "Karin, Tayuya, hang back since taijutsu isn't your best skill. Kabuto and Yakumo, stay with them. Tobi, I want you to deal with the one with claws. Suigetsu, the one with the sword. Fu, the female."

"You can't take both the one with the hammer and Mhao," Fu said.

"Probably not," Ryuu agreed. "But I'm the one with the best chance of it."

Fu hesitated before nodding. "Okay. Just be careful."

"I will," Ryuu nodded, sliding his foot to the side slightly. "Let's go!"

* * *

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	95. Chapter 95

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Final Showdown

"Let's go!"

Ryuu shot forward, flickering long enough for the greatsword to pass through him before jumping and planting both feet in the hammer homunculus's chest, launching him at Mhao. Mhao raised a hand, catching the homunculus so easy that he made it seem as though the homunculus were merely a paper ball, then without any perceivable movement, sent him rocketing back at Ryuu. Ryuu growled in annoyance, activating his Sharingan, his right hand turning a dark brown before he slammed the back of his fist into the homunculus, sending him crashing through multiple pillars before he crashed to the ground and rolled to a stop.

"Let's finish this Mhao," Ryuu growled.

"I would, but you're about to have your hands full," Mhao said.

Suddenly, four hammer homunculus appeared around Ryuu, all swinging their hammers horizontal to the ground. Ryuu growled, his entire body hardening just before the hammers hit, all denting in the shape of his body. Then, he threw his arms up, forcing the four homunculus to stagger backward before he spun, a ring of flames shooting outward from the arc his tanto slashed, exploding against the four homunculus, three of them exploding into clouds of smoke as the last flew backward, crashing into the wall beside Mhao. Then, Ryuu stopped spinning and raised his still-hardened left hand, catching the greatsword's blade as it slashed at him from behind, holding it for a moment before Suigetsu's massively expanded right fist exploded into the homunculus, launching it away from Ryuu. Ryuu spun, drilling his left fist into the hammer's head as that homunculus swung it at him again and the hammer stopped, Ryuu's arm elbow deep in it.

"Fire Style, Flash Palm!" Ryuu snarled, the head of the hammer exploding, leaving barely more than the hammer's grip and throwing the homunculus away. "Once again, let's finish this Mhao."

"And once again, I would, but you're about to have your hands full," Mhao smirked.

Ryuu turned, watching as the greatsword homunculus kicked Suigetsu, sending him blasting backward along the ground. At the same time, Fu flipped away from the female, whose khakkhara had lightning flying along it constantly, and Tobi drove a wooden spike into his own opponent's abdomen, a dozen more wood spikes suddenly erupting from the homunculus's body, failing to kill it still, but making it impossible for it to move. Ryuu sighed, vanishing just ahead of the hammer homunculus's fists as they crashed into the ground, reappearing in the center of the line his friends had made.

"This is getting to be very annoying," Ryuu said. "We can't kill them unless we take Mhao down."

"Assuming Mhao actually _is_ the thing keeping them alive," Kabuto said. "And you need to be careful. He'll be more powerful than you expect."

"If he's not on level with the Akatsuki-"

"He might be," Kabuto said. "If you try to fight them both, you'll probably lose."

"I see," Ryuu nodded. "Very well. Then I'll just have to go all out. Maybe it's time to finally find out what my Mangekyo Sharingan can do."

"No," Kabuto said. "It's too much of a risk. You might accidentally activate Izanagi."

"What?" Ryuu asked.

"It's a genjutsu that you cast on yourself to rewrite reality," Tobi said. "It can erase your death and allow you to keep fighting. However, as a trade, each use of Izanagi causes one Sharingan to go blind."

"Fuck that then," Ryuu snorted. "I need my eyes."

"So then what do we do?" Tayuya asked. "We've bitten off a bit more than we can chew here."

"Yeah, just a bit," Ryuu nodded, eyes flashing around, taking in as much as he could. "I'm missing something."

"Would you like to know the secret?" Mhao asked. "I'll tell you. You see, all this time I wasn't attacking you, I was working, perfecting my design, and that of my family." He gestured at the others. "Shin, Yumi, Ban, and Khan. Those copies of me that attacked you in the desert were failures. For my family, I found partial success. My family can always heal, so long as their core is not damaged."

"Core?" Ryuu asked.

"That's right," Mhao said. "Their core. A creation of Orochimaru's. A parasite that infects a host, and does one of two things. Either it kills them immediately, or over an extended period, during which time, they have a massive increase in power, and have the ability to regenerate endlessly so long as the parasite survives."

"Orochimaru abandoned that research as too dangerous, and as a failure," Kabuto said. "The parasites kept taking over their hosts, and none were ever able to survive."

"But it wasn't a failure," Mhao said. "He simply didn't have the patience to make it a success. I carefully selected and cultivated the cell cultures that were most resilient to the parasites' control, as well as those that withstood the inevitable breakdown the best. And now, my family can resist their parasites influence under all but the most extreme of circumstances."

"And what about you?" Ryuu asked.

"I have finally been perfected," Mhao said. "You have no idea how long it took to find it. I searched for so long. Everywhere I could. Did you ever wonder why my flames are blue?"

"Hotter flames turn blue, then white after that," Ryuu said.

"And yet, your flames are able to withstand mine," Mhao said. "If mine were hotter, they'd win by default, wouldn't they?"

"So what then?" Ryuu asked.

"His newfound power," Kabuto said. "He's been touched by Agni, the fire god."

"I don't believe in a fire god," Ryuu said.

"Perhaps it's not a god," Mhao shrugged. "Perhaps it's a demon. Perhaps it's some other being. But that's not what matters. This is."

Then, Mhao was on fire. No, it was more like he _was_ fire. He grew, his grin stretching into a wicked smile as his body grew upward, turning blue. Then, it solidified again, Mhao now towering over them, almost triple Ryuu's height, his sword having grown proportionally.

"That's..." Ryuu felt his tanto fall to the ground, but could do nothing more than stare at Mhao. "That's impossible."

"So, Ryuu, as you said, let's end this," Mhao grinned, his voice deep and rumbling.

Ryuu swallowed hard and knelt slowly, picking up his tanto. "Kabuto, how big is the parasite?"

"Assuming he hasn't altered it in any way, it should be about the size of yur pinky finger," Kabuto said. "And it can move around in their bodies."

"I see," Ryuu nodded, still staring at the floor. "Do what you can about those four."

"Be careful," Fu said as Ryuu formed his wings. "I'll come and help you as soon as I can."

"Yeah," Ryuu said, forming a Vacuum Blade over his tanto, putting his trench knife away. "I'll try."

He exploded off of the ground, cratering it, but before he was even halfway, Mhao's free hand flashed through the air, backhanding Ryuu and sending him exploding through half a dozen pillars, making them collapse, along with part of the roof above them, barely missing crushing Ryuu. Ryuu stood, swaying dangerously before picking up his tanto, staring at Mhao as Mhao cackled gleefully, the others all struggling against the other homunculi.

"What's wrong Ryuu?" Mhao asked. "I thought you were stronger than that."

Ryuu stared at Mhao in silence. He was right. Ryuu _was_ stronger than that. Something was off. Holding him back. He glanced at his right hand, but somehow, he knew it wasn't that.

"Catch me if you can, Mhao," Ryuu said, extending his wings and rocketing up toward the hole in the ceiling, only for Mhao to appear over him, punching him back to the ground.

"Pathetic!" Mhao shouted. "You're disappointing me, Ryuu! I went through all the trouble of gaining this power in hopes of matching you, and now you're weaker than you've ever been!"

Ryuu pushed himself up, making it to his knees before collapsing again. Something was wrong. His entire body felt sluggish, and weak. Just trying tp push himself up felt like he was trying to wade through neck-deep swamp muck. He looked around, trying to activate his Sharingan, but they wouldn't respond.

"What...what did...you...do?" Ryuu panted, managing to make it to his hands and knees again.

"I was wondering when you'd decide to ask," Mhao said just as the others all crashed to the ground around Ryuu, minus Tobi, who was still fighting. "Ever since you entered this room, we've been pumping a poisonous gas into the room. It doesn't effect homunculus, so we're all safe, but you...I'm actually impressed you're all still alive."

Ryuu swallowed hard. So that was it. He raised his head, staring at Tobi as he leapt and dodged around the four homunculi, beating them all to a pulp. "Tobi. Open a window."

Tobi instantly grabbed Ban and Khan by the throat and jumped, leaping through the hole Ryuu had formed before sending the two homunculi streaking upward one at a time, blasting Ban through one floor, then Khan up through the ground, opening it to fresh air. Then, he reappeared beside Ryuu, opening and wrapping a tentacle around each of them before sinking into the ground with them, leaving only Ryuu.

"I don't know what you hoped to accomplish," Mhao said. "I didn't really care about any of them anyway. But now, it's just you and me."

"Wrong," Ryuu said. "Because now, my best friend can give me a hand."

Mhao raised an eyebrow just as Yomo cawed, dropping a scroll, which landed in front of Ryuu and rolled open, a cloud of smoke bursting out instantly. Then, Ryuu's giant summoning crow grabbed Ryuu and shot up into the hole, a dozen feathers left in the ground, beginning to glow. Just as Ryuu and the crow left the hole, the feathers exploded and the hideout began to cave in. The crow flipped, tossing Ryuu before catching him on its back. Just as it did, Mhao exploded out of the ground in the distance and the other four homunculi appeared in the air in front of the crow. The crow flipped, Ryuu clinging to its back as it fired a barrage of arrows into the hammer homunculi's torso, then flew away from them all, sweeping low to the ground and levelling out just as the feathers exploded.

"Ban!" Yumi screamed.

Ryuu looked back, seeing the white substance dissolving as it fell. "Nice one. You got him." He inhaled deeply, feeling pain lance through him from his lungs, but felt his weakness starting to leave slowly. "Let's see if you can get the other three."

The crow huffed and circled around, streaking across the ground as Khan and Shin moved to meet him. The crow flapped its wings, streaking sideways as they slashed at it and left a trail of feathers which exploded and sent the pair flying, however, it didn't destroy them like Ban. Ryuu grit his teeth, steeling himself for more pain and inhaled again. The crow pulled up short, flapping its wings and sending a barrage of feathers at Khan and Shin again, apparently having curved around without Ryuu noticing. However, before the feathers could reach them, Yumi landed in front of them, helicoptering her khakkhara and deflecting all of the feathers, all of them exploding somewhere behind the three homunculi.

"I won't let you hurt my family!" she seethed, pulling her khakkhara back and leaping at them as the crow began to turn.

"Shit!" the crow swore.

Then, the staff crashed into him, lightning flashing off of the impact and sent the crow and Ryuu both flying, the crow exploding into smoke and Ryuu bouncing along the ground. As he rolled to a stop, Yumi charged at him, shrieking in rage, only for Fu to appear, drilling a punch into her gut and launching her backward. She flipped, driving the end of her staff into the ground and skidded to a stop, glaring at Fu.

"I won't let you hurt Ryuu," Fu snarled, murder shining from her eyes.

"I won't let you hurt my family," Yumi responded, just as angrily.

"Then we won't be able to see eye to eye," Fu said, drawing her tanto and kunai.

"And talking about it any longer will simply be a waste of our time," Yumi said.

Both exploded forward, chakra streaming along both of Fu's weapons before she slashed, her tanto crashing into Yumi's staff, the ground cratering. Ryuu watched as they moved around and around the clearing they were in, weapons clashing and cratering the ground repeatedly. Neither was holding back. They were both fighting to defend the ones they loved, as much as he hated to admit that Yumi clearly _did_ care about anything. Being a homunculus created by Orochimaru, he would much rather think of them all as heartless monsters, but as he looked into Yumi's eyes, he saw the same fierce determination that he could see from Fu. He looked past the pair and saw that Kabuto was struggling to keep Khan busy, and Tobi was once again beating Shin senseless.

Ryuu looked back to Fu and Yumi just as Yumi's staff slammed into Fu's abdomen, launching her backward, lightning racing over Fu's body and her weapons falling to the ground as she flew. She crashed to the ground and Yumi began to walk after her, only to stop as Fu struggled to her feet and prepared herself to fight again, barehanded this time. Yumi shot forward and Fu moved to meet her, throwing a punch, only for Yumi to knock her arm away then slam the staff into the underside of her jaw, hurling her away again.

"Fu, just stop," Ryuu said, struggling to stand, body still not responding properly, as Fu's clearly wasn't.

"I can do this," Fu said, standing and wiping some blood from the corner of her mouth. "I won't let you hurt Ryuu."

"Just die already!" Yumi shrieked, lightning racing along her staff as she charged again.

This time, Fu didn't try to meet her charge, she just stood there, waiting. Then, as Yumi swung her staff around at Fu, Fu caught it, lightning flooding across her body, making her scream in agony, before Fu grabbed Yumi by the face, Yumi's scream joining her own. Finally, the lightning ended and Fu released the staff, forming the Seal of Confrontation.

"Fire Style, Blockbuster!" Fu shouted, Yumi instantly erupting into a fireball.

Fu was blasted backward and Ryuu shoved with all he was worth, managing to reach his feet in time to catch Fu before falling to the ground again. Just as he did, Khan shouted in agony as Kabuto drove a hand into one of his wounds.

"How!?" Khan shouted.

"Dumb luck," Kabuto said. "One of the times your wounds were healing, I caught sight of your parasite through the gash, so I realized that it was able to heal wounds faster when it was close to them. So, I just had to make one big enough and..." He ripped his hand out, a tiny purple leech-looking thing clutched in his fingers. "Et voila."

Then, he squeezed, the leech popping on one end like a zit as Khan shrieked in pain before melting into goo and beginning to dissolve. Ryuu looked to Tobi and Shin just as Shin charged at Tobi, who held a hand out, the other in the Seal of Confrontation.

"That's enough," Tobi said. "Wood Style, Cutting Sprigs Jutsu."

Then, a spike of wood erupted out of Tobi's palm, impaling Shin through the face and into his torso before dozens of spikes began to erupt from Shin's body and retract in the blink of an eye, shredding him before one finally stopped once extending, the parasite impaled on the end of it. Tobi detached from the wooden spike and it fell to the ground as Shin began to dissolve. Ryuu sighed in relief and looked up at Mhao, who was watching with an amused smirk.

"Not bad," Mhao said, clapping slowly. "You took them all down pretty quickly. Now, if Ryuu could just hurry up and get his lazy ass in gear, we could get the fun started. After all, I'm not really interested in settling things when he's weakened like this."

"Then why poison us?" Ryuu demanded.

"Oh no, that wasn't for you," Mhao said. "That was for the other experiment you all set loose. Don't worry. The poison is an instant death sentence for it."

Ryuu looked toward the hole, then back up at Mhao, choosing to ignore his words about some other threat. Right now, Mhao was the only threat that mattered.

"Ryuu," Tobi said, stepping up next to him. "If you use my body, you should be able to fight properly again. Your speed might be a little limited, I'm not as fast as you, but I'm about as strong, and I'm not affected by the poison, so you could fight up to my limits."

"Do it," Ryuu said.

Tobi nodded and deconstructed, lifting Ryuu before closing around him. Ryuu took a breath, feeling his lungs sear in pain, but when he took a step forward, Tobi's body assisted him, allowing him to move at a normal speed, Tobi's strength making up the difference for his own body's weakness. Ryuu sighed, crouching and readying himself, glaring at Mhao, who chuckled, motioning for Ryuu to attack first. Ryuu extended his wings and shot toward Mhao. Mhao threw a punch at Ryuu and Ryuu flipped, spiraling around Mhao's arm before hardening his right hand, drilling his fist into Mhao's nose, shouting in surprise as Mhao's body parted around him like as flames. He leapt backward, growling in annoyance. There was no way he'd be able to beat Mhao using his fists. However, he did have one advantage over Mhao, now. He was a huge target. He reached back, Tobi opening a gap to expose Ryuu's tanto, allowing him too draw it, and Ryuu formed a Vacuum Blade on it, glaring at Mhao. Mhao grinned, drawing his own sword, and both shot forward, their sword meeting with a deafening crash, Ryuu sailing backward through the air before catching himself, glaring at Mhao.

"This might be a challenge after all," Ryuu said. "Alright, we'll try it this way." He hurled his tanto skyward and formed several hand seals, inhaling. "Wind Style, Drilling Air Bullets!"

He slammed a fist into his gut and a massive blast of super-compressed air exploded out of his mouth, Tobi's head unravelling in time to let it pass before closing again. The blast exploded into Mhao's chest and sent him blasting into the ground, bouncing and rolling across it for a hundred yards before rolling to his feet, roaring in rage.

"Wind Style, Wind Dragon Jutsu!" Ryuu shouted, exhaling a massive dragon made of Wind Chakra.

The dragon shot along the ground, growing rapidly until it was as wide as Mhao's torso. Mhao slashed, sending a massive blast of flames that easily dwarfed the gargantuan wind dragon at it, but the fire dispersed around the dragon. Then, the dragon's jaws snapped closed on Mhao's ribs, just under his arms. Mhao screamed in pain as it crushed his ribs, its teeth sinking entirely into his skin, blood spraying out of the wounds, along with Mhao's mouth as his lungs were punctured by the teeth and his ribs. Then, Mhao began to pass into the dragon, which grew rapidly, quickly dwarfing the homunculus. As soon as Mhao had passed into the dragon's body, its body suddenly exploded into a cyclone of razor-sharp wind chakra, the chakra shredding at Mhao's body, Mhao screaming continuously as the dragon flew around and around, Mhao slowly making his way through its body as it did. Finally, he passed out is tail and began to fall, only for the dragon t instantly catch him in the front of its teeth, the teeth punching completely through his chest before it flew straight down, exploding into the ground with Mhao and erupting into a massive sphere of Wind Chakra, Mhao hovering in the center as the chakra tore at him even more. An arm spun away after a moment, then a leg. An eye was blasted into a spray of blood, and his nose was ripped off. Then, the sphere shone and compressed, a dozen or more gashes suddenly exploding open in Mhao's body before the sphere spiraled, exploding into a tornado, Mhao spinning around and around in the center as his body was torn apart even further, before he was finally ejected from the tornado, crashing to the ground and rolling to a stop, lying motionless as blood flooded out of his mangled body.

"Damn!" Tayuya said. "Where the hell did you learn that jutsu?"

"I...created it," Ryuu panted, know on one knee, and trying to catch his breath. "It's exhausting."

"I bet," Suigetsu said. "That's a terrifying jutsu."

"It's just a shame that you seem to have forgotten that fire beats Wind," Mhao's voice said as he rose, body exploding into flames and regenerating before grinning wickedly. "Had that been a water jutsu, I'd have been finished."

"Oh I didn't forget," Ryuu said. "I just needed to keep your eyes on me for a bit."

"You what!?" Mhao snarled before his eyes widened and he looked up.

"Water Style, Maelstrom Bullet Jutsu!" Fu shouted, a massive spiraling blast firing from her two handed finger gun, the blast rapidly expanding and spiraling into a long, thin drill, streaking down at Mhao in the blink of an eye.

It drilled through his chest, bursting out through his back before exploding, thousands of gallons of water exploding outward all at once. Water from the explosion began to rain back down from the air, soaking Fu's wings and making her fall, only for Ryuu to catch her. They watched the geyser the jutsu had created as he began to die down, only for the ground under the impact point to suddenly collapse, the entirety of the hideout beginning to cave in. After a few moments, it was over, and the falling rain quickly cleared the dust before also stopping. Ryuu's Sharingan watched the rubble in silence before he flew to where the others had retreated, setting Fu on her feet and turning back to the pit.

"What is it?" Kabuto asked. "Don't tell me he's still alive."

"Yeah," Ryuu said. "He's weakened, a lot, but he's alive."

Just then, blue flames exploded out of the pit, Mhao's enraged scream splitting the otherwise dead-silent forest. After a moment, he rose into the air in the center of the flames. He was normal-sized, but Ryuu could sense that he was still dangerously powerful, and seemed to be healing quickly. Ryuu glanced to the side, seeing his tanto, and flew over to it grabbing it and circling Mhao, pulling his attention away from the others. Mhao turned and slashed, the entirety of the column of flames shooting toward Ryuu as a highly-compressed, near-shining arc of flame. Ryuu swore, vanishing just ahead of it and reappeared just behind Mhao, a Vacuum Blade enhanced with water around his tanto as he slashed upward. Mhao spun so fast that Ryuu couldn't even see him move, and blocked the slash, only for Fu to appear behind him, a fresh set of wings buzzing behind her as she slashed at Mhao with a Water Blade, Mhao vanishing, then reappearing off to the side.

"Tobi, how long can you keep up the Body Flicker Technique?" Ryuu asked.

"Probably a few seconds," Tobi said. "But then I'll run out of chakra and deconstruct, and you'll be on your own."

"It's going to have to do," Ryuu said, pulling his sword back. "Let's go Mhao!"

He shot forward, the world around him seeming to slow to a crawl, except for Mhao. Mhao met his charge at an identical speed, the two of them beginning to clash rapidly, their blades flashing around and around. Ryuu flipped over a slash from Mhao's sword and spun, slashing at Mhao's throat, only for Mhao to duck under it and stand, slashing back upward at Ryuu. Ryuu twisted out of the way and stabbed downward at Mhao, who spun out of the way, then flipped and kicked at Ryuu. Ryuu caught the kick, water chakra flowing through his and Tobi's bodies to counteract Mhao's new ability. Then, he spun, flinging him into the ground. Mhao crashed into the ground and cratered it and Ryuu swiped a hand, a barrage of water senbon forming out of the water in the air around him, stabbing down into Mhao's body. One second down.

Mhao exploded off the ground at Ryuu, flames rolling off of his sword and Ryuu met his charge, water flooding off of his own blade. Both slashed and when they met, Mhao's flames exploded, only to be instantly blocked by enough water to fill a lake exploding off of Ryuu's blade, blasting Mhao into the ground again. However, just as it ended, Tobi separated from Ryuu, falling as a limp, flailing mass of tentacles, Ryuu falling as well. Suigetsu caught Ryuu and set him down as Mhao stood, soaking wet and seething with rage. The water over his body began to steam and hiss, Mhao snarling in rage as Suigetsu and Fu stepped in front of Ryuu.

"We'll take over from here," Suigetsu said, dropping his sword off to the side, instead forming his left forearm and down into a long, smooth blade of clear water that looked like it might be double-edged, at the same time as a droplet of water formed on his right hand's finger gun.

He and Fu charged instantly and Mhao roared, sounding more like a monster than a person, and met their charge, slashing rapidly, flames rolling off of his blade, yet Fu and Suigetsu's Water Blades were able to beat the flames. Fu and Suigetsu moved around and around Mhao, slashing again and again, Mhao turning, spinning, and pivoting, blocking everything, striking back when he could, but hitting nothing but air. Suddenly, as Suigetsu was flipping over Mhao and slashing, Mhao blocking the slash, Suigetsu fired the first Water Gun shot, the shot punching through Mhao's shoulder in a spray of blood. Mhao screamed, staggering backward before roaring in rage, flames exploding off of him as he shot forward, hacking and slashing at Suigetsu in a massive flurry of blows, forcing Suigetsu to retreat quickly, transforming his other arm into a blade as well to try and fend off the strikes. Mhao pressed him hard, however, and when Fu moved to help Suigetsu, a blast of flames erupted out of Mhao's back, forcing her to leap backward. Then, Ryuu raised a hand, a droplet of water forming on his finger before firing, punching through Mhao from behind before hitting Suigetsu and launching him backward but not hurting him. Suigetsu bounced and rolled to a stop before standing, grinning as Mhao stared down at his chest.

"Looks like that's the end of it," Suigetsu grinned.

Mhao began to tremble and Suigetsu's eyes narrowed.

"Just stay down!" Suigetsu said.

Mhao roared, erupting into a massive humanoid flame, his sword transforming into a long tongue of flame that he slashed out to the side, anything the sword hit exploding and spreading flames over everything. Suigetsu winced, staggering away, one hand going to his throat.

"Suigetsu!" Karin shouted. "He'll dehydrate!"

"Water Style, Super Exploding Water Shockwave!" Ryuu shouted, Fu resting a hand on his back and transferring him Chomei's chakra to allow him to use it.

Water exploded out of Ryuu's mouth, flooding outward and putting out the flames, hissing, steaming, and boiling as it hit Mhao, who shouted in rage and pain. The water swept Mhao into the pit and he crashed down before standing and roaring in rage and pain as the water began to flood the pit, despite how massive the pit was. Mhao stood, roaring and turning toward the edge where Ryuu and Fu were watching. However, a moment later, a massive blob of water with spikes on its back, a mouth full of pointed teeth, and a pair of tentacle-like arms on the sides erupted out of the water, Suigetsu floating in the center. Suigetsu rammed into Mhao, biting into his sides, Mhao roaring in pain ant raising his sword, the flames shifting to point downward, only for Suigetsu's left tentacle to wrap around the arm, the other wrapping around Mhao's throat. The two struggled against each other for a moment before Suigetsu turned, shouting in effort and swinging his arms, Mhao being swung into the air and over the blob, slamming down in the water, which washed over him instantly. The water vibrated, a muted roar reaching everyone's ears as the water began to boil, and after a moment, Mhao broke free, only for Suigetsu to wrestle him back under the water. Mhao broke free again, managing to slash Suigetsu's left tentacle, the explosion blasting part of the blob off, but in response, Suigetsu pulled a hand up and curled it into a fist in front of himself, a dozen water tentacles bursting out of the water and grabbing Mhao. Then, Suigetsu yanked his hand downward and Mhao was dragged under the water again. He thrashed and struggled under the water, but this time Suigetsu had too good a hold. Slowly, the flames began to go out, Mhao's body rapidly vanishing as the water slowly began to calm. Then, finally, the flames were gone entirely, leaving Mhao's original body, which Suigetsu held under for several more moments before releasing, allowing his water form to fall away, leaving him as himself again, panting and completely drained of energy.

Ryuu sighed, walking across the water toward Mhao's body, tanto in hand with his Water Vacuum Blade still in place and Fu at his side. Then, Mhao burst out f the water, streaking across it at Ryuu, sword pulled back.

"I won't die!" Mhao seethed. "I am the ultimate being! I am the one chosen by the Fire God! I will burn-"

Ryuu's tanto spun over Mhao, the Vacuum Blade slicing both of his arms off, Mhao's eyes widening in shock as Ryuu and Fu appeared in front of him, each holding a small sphere of water in their hands, the spheres raging around as it fought to expand.

"Just shut up," Ryuu snarled.

"Water Style, Ripping Torrent!" both shouted, slamming their sphere into Mhao's gut.

Both exploded outward instantly, combining into a cyclone of water that tore into Mhao the same way Ryuu's Wind Dragon Jutsu had, dragging him backward through the pit as it did. Finally, Mhao hit the end of the pit three hundred meters away and the cyclone exploded, shattering the ground for another hundred meters before beginning to settle in a thick mist and rain. Ryuu sighed and collapsed onto Fu's shoulder, Fu catching him and jumping up to the others, passing him too Karin before turning and swiping a hand, a wave of Wind Style Chakra shooting out and clearing the mist. There, laying in the remains of the shattered ground, was Mhao. No arms, one leg shattered in five places, the other folded forward so that his foot was in his armpit, and his head snapped around backward, the back of his head resting on his chest, both eyes liquified and slowly leaking out of his eye sockets.

"Oh my god," Karin said. "That's disgusting."

"That had better be the last one," Ryuu said. "Because that's going to haunt me for a very long time."

"Me too," Fu agreed.

"They were just Homunculi," Kabuto said.

"No," Ryuu said. "They were people. They had emotions, and desires. They may not have been made the same way we were, but they were just as alive as us."

Kabuto nodded slowly. "I suppose you're right. Anyway, we should get back."

"Not yet," Ryuu said, pulling out a soldier pill and eating it. "One last thing."

The other all looked at him in confusion as he walked to the edge of the pit, forming hand seals.

"Fire Style, Purgatory Reclamation!" He set his hands on the side of the pit and flames surged outward from them, filling the pit and instantly evaporating the water before beginning to burn everything in the pit, the pit dropping several more levels as the fire spread down further than they had been. Then, Ryuu stood and swayed dangerously before Fu caught him again, steadying him. "Tobi, you still with us?"

"Yes," Tobi said, slowly reconnecting himself. "I just need to rest."

"Alright," Ryuu nodded. "Let's get going then."

The others nodded and they all started back, most of them limping and barely moving faster than a crawl. Ryuu sighed. It was going to be a long trip.

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	96. Chapter 96

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

State of Emergency

Ryuu groaned as he collapsed into his chair. His entire body ached, his chakra had barely recovered halfway, and it had taken them several days to almost literally limp home. He had reported the mission's events to Tsunade, and he had thanked the others, and then he had gone home.

"Finally home," Fu groaned, dropping into her own chair.

"I just want to sit here and rest for the next three days," Ryuu said. "Short of an emergency summons, we're still on vacation."

As if on que, the bell sounding an emergency summons began to toll. Ryuu and Fu both let out a sobbing groan and slowly pushed themselves to their feet before walking outside. Yugao and Tayuya, who hadn't taken part in the fight and was fine, were already speeding away.

"I'm so done with this job," Ryuu groaned.

He extended his wings, Fu doing the same, and both flew toward the Hokage's Office. They arrived first, both entering and closing the door behind them before collapsing into Tsunade's chairs, groaning.

"I'm really sorry about this, you two," Tsunade said. "After the fight you just went through, you two should be resting."

"It's fine," Ryuu said, beginning to heal his muscles, Fu doing the same. "What's the situation?"

"We received a message late last night," Tsunade said. "Someone has revived Moryo and released him from the underground palace he was sealed away in. His Ghost Army is on the march. We'll be working with other nations to put an end to this crisis."

"Okay," Ryuu nodded. "First question, who's Moryo?"

"An ancient and powerful demon, born of the evil within men's hearts," Tsunade said.

"What does the Ghost Army consist of?" Ryuu asked. "Actual ghosts, or just some soldiers that are really hard to kill?"

"Terracotta statues," Tsunade said. "Ones reinforced by chakra, and who move and attack on their own, destroying everything in their path."

"Have any been destroyed?" Ryuu asked.

"No," Tsunade said. "But Kakashi and Guy have already gone on ahead to attempt to slow the Ghost Army down."

"I see," Ryuu nodded. "Okay. How do we proceed?"

"The only way to stop Moryo is for the Priestess of the Land of Ogres to travel to the shrine where Moryo's physical body is sealed in the Land of Swamps and seal away Moryo's soul again," Tsunade said.

Ryuu groaned. "The Land of Ogres? Really? Couldn't whoever it is cause trouble while we were already there?" He sighed. "Alright. I recommend Naruto and Sakura take the mission, with Rock Lee as Sasuke's replacement."

"That's a good idea," Tsunade nodded. "And I assume you'll be leading them?"

"No fucking way," Ryuu snorted. "Whoever is trying to revive Moryo is alive. They'll have to be killed. I've got enough nightmares. No, I'm going to be fighting the nice, nightmare free army of walking garden gnomes."

"But what about Team Seven?" Tsunade asked.

"Send Neji with them," Ryuu said. "He's a good strategist, a good leader, and his Byakugan will be more helpful protecting the Priestess than my Sharingan. Oh, and send Hinata."

"Why?" Tsunade asked.

"Because a long time ago, I promised to help her and Naruto get together but for that to happen, they have to be around each other," Ryuu said.

Tsunade chuckled. "Very well. But that means that Team Eight will be a member short."

"What's their mission?" Ryuu asked.

"Assist in delaying the Ghost Army, though they're being kept out of the actual combat," Tsunade said.

"Then they can take Tayuya," Ryuu said. "Her genjutsu will be useless against the Ghost Army, so she can help them. If necessary, her taijutsu is good enough."

Tsunade nodded. "And I assume you want to go to the front lines with Fu."

"Yes," Ryuu nodded.

"Alright," Tsunade sighed. "Your orders are to meet up with Kakashi and Guy and do what you can to slow the Ghost Army."

"Does cutting off their arms and legs count as slowing them down?" Ryuu asked. "they're just stone statues, right? So then I should be able to stop them if we break them apart."

Tsunade considered for a moment before nodding. "Do it. But be careful."

Ryuu nodded and he and Fu left, getting outside just as Sakura and Naruto arrived.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked.

"Tsunade will fill you in," Ryuu said. "Good luck on your mission Naruto. Oh, and be nice to her. She's wanted to go on a mission with you for forever."

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked. "Sakura and I go on missions together all the time."

Ryuu chuckled and raised a hand as he and Fu walked away. Then, both extended their wings and took off, Ryuu whistling and calling Yomo, who flew up next to them within a few minutes. They flew slowly for them, slow enough to continue repairing their muscles as they flew, and to try and recover some of their chakra. Finally, after about a day, they landed at the top of a canyon where Guy and Kakashi were spreading explosive tags along the edge.

"Kakashi Sensei, we've been sent to reinforce you," Ryuu said.

"Good," Kakashi nodded. "We can use the help. We're going to drop a bunch of boulders on them, see if it stops them."

"If it doesn't, and I doubt it will, Tsunade's given me permission to engage them directly," Ryuu said.

"You may want to reconsider," Kakashi said. "There won't be enough room to move between them, even with your Body Flicker Technique, and you probably don't know any jutsus strong enough to clear a large group at once."

"What about this?" Ryuu asked, forming a Chidori.

"That'd probably work for individual statues," Kakashi nodded, "but for groups, it wouldn't be enough. Hm...I suppose I might have one that would work, but you won't be able to copy it with your Sharingan."

"Why?" Ryuu asked. "Is it a Kekkei Genkai?"

"Well, no," Kakashi said. "But it involves an extremely high level of change in chakra form, to the point that the Sharingan can't copy it. Even if you can see how it works, your chakra control still isn't enough to copy it just from your Sharingan alone."

"Can I see it?" Ryuu asked.

"I suppose so," Kakashi said, holding out a hand. "It's actually a jutsu that Naruto uses. He learned it from Master Jiraiya of the Legendary Sanin, who in turn learned it from the Fourth Hokage, my old sensei who created the jutsu and taught it to me." He began to move his hand in a circular motion as Ryuu watched his hand with his Sharingan.

As Ryuu watched, chakra began to form into a point just above Kakashi's hand, spiraling in every direction in a chaotic swarm of extremely compressed and violent chakra, all of it fighting itself and shoving outward with what seemed to be enough force to level a building, yet it was all contained and stable thanks to an outer layer of chakra. Ryuu watched it swirl but watching it gave him a headache. He winced, then had an idea. He focused, activating his Mangekyo Sharingan and the headache cleared in seconds as he watched the chakra rage and swirl around in what seemed to be slow motion. After a moment, he held out his hand, focusing and channeling his chakra into it, a sphere like Kakashi's, a transparent blue one with visible chakra raging around inside, formed over his palm, but it was looser than Kakashi's, and bigger. Instead of the size of a fist, it was the size of Ryuu's head.

"It's not contained properly," Kakashi said. "However, it looks like you got two thirds of the jutsu correct. I'm impressed. Your Sharingan are incredibly sharp."

"Thanks," Ryuu said, deactivating his Sharingan and letting the jutsu fade. "That jutsu's exhausting. So is Mangekyo Sharingan."

Kakashi nodded. "It's called the Rasengan."

Ryuu nodded. "I'll keep trying it. But if I can't get it, I'll just get creative with what I have."

Kakashi nodded, reaching up and gripping his forehead protector. "If at all possible, I'll try to lend a hand."

"Thanks," Ryuu nodded, looking up to where Yomo was circling overhead just as Yomo called out once. "They're in sight."

"Right," Kakashi nodded. "Guy, get in position!"

Guy nodded and crouched on his side, holding a kunai with an explosive tag. As he did, Ryuu and the others crouched on the other side, Kakashi also holding a kunai with a tag. After a few more minutes, statues began to stomp into the canyon, moving slowly, about one step every two or three seconds. However, there were a lot. Kakashi was right. He wouldn't have enough room to move between them, even using the Body Flicker Technique. At most, the biggest gap was in the middle of four, and it was maybe a foot across. He may be able to fight in tight spaces, but not like that.

"I guess I'm getting creative," Ryuu said.

"I'll help," Fu promised.

"Stay low," Kakashi said.

They waited, watching the statues march into the canyon. Then, when they had moved in far enough, Guy and Kakashi detonated the tags, sending thousands of tons of debris crashing down on the Ghost Army, only for them to continue stomping through the canyon anyway. Ryuu sighed, extending his wings and sinking to the floor of the canyon, activating his Sharingan and watching the Ghost Army march toward him. He considered what jutsu he wanted to use. After a moment, he formed several hand seals, exhaling a Pressure Damage. It exploded into the first line of statues, sending them flying, but all of them landed without any damage and reintegrated into the army, continuing.

"Okay," Ryuu said. "Wind is out. Fire Style, Searing Migraine!"

Flames washed over the statues, but when the smoke cleared, they were glowing cherry red and still marching. He swore and exhaled a pencil thin stream f water, which was capable of slicing through metal with ease, only for it to disperse against the army harmlessly.

"Christ," Ryuu grumbled. "Alright, lightning then. Lightning Style, False Darkness!" He exhaled a jet of lightning from his mouth and it exploded against a statue, only for it to once again continue on the other side. "Jesus, they really are invincible."

Fu shot down, slamming a Water Blade into one while Kakashi, who was hanging from her free hand, slammed a Chidori into another's head. The Water Blade was Harmless, but the Chidori took its head off, only for it to keep walking. Fu shot into the air again and Ryuu sighed, flying up to the top of the cliff with her.

"You were right about there not being any room," Ryuu said. "I need an open area to slow them down."

"There'll be passing through an open field in about a day," Kakashi said. "After that, they'll be travelling through a forest the rest of the way, and it'll be too dangerous to fight them directly. At least until the shrine in the Land of Swamps."

"I'm not expecting to let them get that far," Ryuu said. "Fu and I will head to the open area, if they change direction, send up a flare and we'll meet up with you. I'll be working on the Rasengan while we meet."

"If you master it by the time they arrive, let me know and I'll tell Naruto you beat his record," Kakashi said. "Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, took three years to create it, then nine months to master it. Jiraiya took about one year to master it. Naruto took a little over a month to learn to perform it, although, he uses clones to do so, rather than doing it himself like myself and Jiraiya. And technically, I'm not that good at it either. I have to keep my hand moving when I do it to get it right. Master Jiraiya and the Fourth Hokage were able to perform it without any extra movements or clones."

"Well, now I have something new to beat Naruto at," Ryuu said. "Come on Fu. We should go get ready."

Fu nodded and they flew away, following the canyon until it opened into a gigantic field. The field was enormous, and was barren for a ways before turning to a grass land. Ryuu and Fu landed in it and Ryuu sat down, holding out his hand and concentrating, beginning to form a Rasengan, only for it to disperse into the air almost instantly. he shook his head and tried again. Again he failed. He tried again, and again he failed. He sighed. It would take a while. Fortunately, he had nothing better to do. So, he settled in to practice, Fu eventually sitting down to try as well, Ryuu briefly explaining it to her. Then, they began to race to see who could learn it first.

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	97. Chapter 97

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Rematch

Ryuu sighed, standing as the statues began to march into the field, spreading out into a massive formation. At a glance, he could tell there were thousands. Which meant he needed to get busy. He had failed to master the Rasengan, unsurprisingly, so he'd have to do it the hard way.

He shot forward, drawing his tanto and forming a Vacuum Blade. Then, as he reached the first line of troops, he dropped, slashing them across the legs, severing them. He grinned, beginning to flicker and streaking forward, almost a dozen Afterimage Clones spreading from him, beginning to sever the legs of the statues. One statue slashed at a Ryuu, and the blade passed through him before he took the arm off, then the legs again. After a few more minutes, and dozens more statues, Ryuu appeared beside Fu again, sighing as the statues began to surround them.

"Well, it seems we've got their attention," Ryuu said.

"True," Fu nodded. "Now we just need to hold it."

Ryuu nodded, looking past the ring of statues where more were continuing to march toward the Land of Swamps. Ryuu huffed, forming a Chidori in his left hand and charging, Fu forming a Vacuum Blade over her tanto and kunai, charging in the other direction. Both tore into the statues, rendering as many as they could immobile, Ryuu using the Chidori to destroy some. After several seconds, they destroyed the last of the circle and Ryuu shot after the statues heading for the Land of Swamps. He shot through the first few lines, slicing them into small pieces with his Vacuum Blade before spinning and using his Chidori to destroy a circle of them. Then, he turned back to the front just as a massive root exploded out of the ground, crashing into Ryuu's gut and hurling him backward out of the soldiers. Ryuu flipped, landing on his feet in a low squat, skidding backward a short distance before stopping, Fu stepping up beside him as Zetsu rose from the ground.

"Zetsu," Ryuu said calmly. "Why am I not surprised to find the Akatsuki's behind Moryo's resurrection?"

"Oh no, we had no hand in his return," Zetsu said. **"But now that he's awake, he'll make an excellent distraction while we go about our business as we please.** Please hand over the Seven Tails' Jinchuriki."

"Oh sure," Ryuu said. "Right after you bring back my entire clan and kill Madara Uchiha."

 **"If you refuse, we'll take her by force,"** Zetsu warned.

"Well for your sake, I hope you're a hell of a lot stronger than you were the last time we met," Ryuu said, forming a Chidori in his left hand, gripping his tanto tightly in his right. "I refuse."

Zetsu watched him for a moment before nodding once. Then, roots erupted out f the ground in front of Zetsu, streaking toward Ryuu as Ryuu activated his Sharingan. Then, just before they reached Ryuu and Fu, Kakashi landed in front of Ryuu, lightning exploding out of his right hand, forming into a wolf and exploding through the roots. Ryuu leapt over Kakashi instantly and exhaled a massive stream of flames at Zetsu, roots erupting out of the ground, blocking them. Then, more roots reached around the side of the still-burning wall, stabbing at Ryuu, only for Fu to streak past them, the roots falling apart along several slashes, the rest halting. Ryuu spun instantly and deflected a thin pointed wood spike as Zetsu stabbed at him with it. Zetsu pulled it back across his chest and stabbed again, then again, and again. Ryuu fended him off, backing away with his wings as Zetsu pursued him on several roots, stabbing at Ryuu relentlessly. Fu flew past and slashed Zetsu's roots, but instead of falling, fresh roots burst out of the stumps left by the old ones, seamlessly sealing it before Black Zetsu transformed his arm into a root and smashed Ryuu away with it, turning and allowing White Zetsu to hurl the wooden spike after Fu. Fu deflected it with her Water Sword and Kakashi leapt at Zetsu from below, Chidori pulled back.

Zetsu's legs erupted into roots, impaling Kakashi, only for him to transform into lightning, blasting Zetsu and hurling him. Zetsu crashed down, roots shrinking back to their normal length before he slammed a fist into the ground, a wall of roots shooting out of the ground and blocking Ryuu's Pressure Damage. Ryuu shot forward, slashing his way through the roots, but Zetsu was gone. He heard Zetsu growing out of the tree behind himself and spun, slashing and streaking away from it, splitting Black Zetsu's arm from palm to elbow, however, both halves simply transformed into roots and slammed into Ryuu, sending him crashing to the ground. As Ryuu stood, Zetsu's arm fused back together just as Fu flipped over the roots Zetsu was partially extended from.

"Water Style, Severing Wave!" Fu shouted, exhaling the same pencil-thin stream of water Ryuu had tried on the statues the day before.

Zetsu shot out of the roots so fast Ryuu could have missed it if he'd blinked. Zetsu avoided the stream of water before Black Zetsu grabbed Fu by the throat, a chakra suppression seal spreading from his hand. At the same time, he began to rapidly sap her chakra. Ryuu hurled his tanto, sending it spinning up between the two, taking off Zetsu's arm as he did. The roots around Zetsu's legs shot to the ground and hurled him backward just ahead of Ryuu, Zetsu tilting his head back to avoid the uppercut, and Ryuu glared at him.

"You're scary," Zetsu said. "The boss is actually concerned you might be stronger than him." He flipped backward, retracting his roots and landing on top of the wall. **"I've run out of patience. We're ending this now."**

"Bring it on," Ryuu growled.

Zetsu began to form hand seals, then slammed his hands into the roots. A moment later, they exploded upward, expanding into a gigantic statue with a face about five times the size of Ryuu's body, five smaller faces around the top of its head like a headband, and hundreds of wooden arms behind it. Zetsu was standing on the statue's head and crossed his arms.

"Time to die," Zetsu said. "Summit Enlightenment!"

The statue's arms all shot out from behind itself, curving around and flying down at Ryuu and Fu. Ryuu formed hand seals quickly and knelt.

"Earth Style, Falling Earth Spears!" Ryuu shouted, shoving as much chakra as he could manage into the ground.

Massive stone spikes began to erupt out of the ground in blurred streaks, Fu standing directly behind Ryuu to keep from restricting his options. The spikes began to hit the wooden hands in a series of collisions as fast as a hard rain, the entire stone spike and arm both being obliterated, leaving Ryuu plenty of room to form more spikes. Finally, the last hand crashed into a spike and was destroyed just as Kakashi appeared over Zetsu, shoving a Chidori at him. Zetsu leapt off of the statue and Kakashi's hand drove itself into the statue's head before lightning erupted outward from his hand, obliterating the statue before Kakashi leapt off of the falling remains, narrowly escaping being impaled by Zetsu's roots.

Ryuu shot off of the ground after Zetsu, slamming a punch into his face. Instantly, there was a sound like an explosion and Zetsu streaked away from Ryuu, exploding into the ground and plowing through it for a hundred feet before flipping out of his trench and crashing down again, cratering it. Ryuu shot after him, only to flip and streak to the side as roots began to erupt out of the ground and stab at him then retract as more stabbed at him, chasing him. Finally, he flipped, flying at Zetsu again and punched a root, the entire thing exploding into splinters within a second. However, Zetsu was gone. Ryuu twisted instantly, contorting his body out of the way of a wooden spike as Zetsu grew out of the root to Ryuu's side. Then, Ryuu punched the root, the root exploding, sending Zetsu flying again, though he flipped and landed on his feet this time.

"Those Repulsion Seals are very troublesome," Zetsu said.

"They _are_ pretty great, aren't they?" Ryuu grinned, landing in front of Zetsu and raising his hand just as Fu dropped his tanto into it, then landed beside him, Kakashi stepping up beside him on the other side. "Shall we finish this?"

"Let's," Kakashi nodded.

Zetsu cocked his head to the side just as roots exploded into the ground over every inch of the ground for a hundred meters, only to stop with Ryuu standing on the side of one holding Kakashi and Fu under his arms. He shifted both so that they could stand on the roots, then sheathed his tanto and exploded off of root, leaping from one to the next toward Zetsu. A new root grew out of one to impale him, but he blasted through it instantly. Zetsu began to sink into the ground but just as he had sunk up to his shoulders, Ryuu landed beside him, fist scraping the ground in an uppercut before rising and slamming into Zetsu's nose. His head smashed through three roots before bouncing off of two more. Ryuu sighed as Fu and Kakashi landed on either side of him.

"Are you alright?" Fu asked.

"It was only a clone," Ryuu said. "Zetsu escaped."

"How do you know?" Fu asked.

"There was no Black Zetsu," Ryuu said. "Half of his face just looked like it had been burned off. He was deformed, like all of the clones of Zetsu I've fought."

"I see," Kakashi nodded. "Well, anyway, we should get going. The Ghost Army will have made it quite a ways. Guy went to try and slow them down while we fought, but he probably won't be able to do much."

Ryuu nodded and they all took off, heading toward the Land of Swamps after the statues.

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	98. Chapter 98

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Slaughter

Ryuu sighed heavily as he flew, Fu at his side and Kakashi hanging between them by his hands. Not only had the Ghost Army escaped Guy, but it had seemed to all but vanish. They were on their way to the shrine in the Land of Swamps to wait for the army, since that was where it was headed.

"We're almost there," Ryuu said. "Everyone ready to break some lawn ornaments?"

"As I'll ever be," Fu nodded.

"I'm about ready to be on the ground again," Kakashi said, looking about ready to collapse, despite not really doing anything since the fight two hours ago.

Finally, they flew over the edge of a cliff and saw the army before them, Naruto and a handful of clones trying to keep the statues out of the shrine. Ryuu and Fu headed for Naruto and hurled Kakashi at the statues near the front.

"All you Kakashi!" Ryuu shouted.

Kakashi pulled his forehead protector up as he fell and formed a Chidori, except, as Ryuu looked at it with his Sharingan, he noticed it was about ten times more condensed than the Chidori.

"Lightning Blade!" Kakashi shouted, shoving his hand outward and sending a lightning bolt tearing along the ground, blasting a dozen statues into rubble before he landed in front of Naruto.

A moment later, Ryuu landed in front of Kakashi and slammed his hands into the ground, stone spikes erupting out of the ground in a wave heading outward from him, smashing the statues rapidly. He grinned. He had finally figured out how much power to pack into his jutsus to break the statues. A statue pulled its sword back to slash at him from off to the side, only for Fu to split it in half with a Vacuum Blade before spinning and kicking the statue, sending it crashing through several more.

"Naruto, go," Ryuu said. "The Priestess is inside, right?"

"Hinata's protecting her," Naruto said. "I can help you guys."

"Go and help them," Ryuu said. "Are you certain none made it into the shrine before you arrived?"

Naruto paled instantly. "Hinata!"

He turned, sprinting into the shrine as all three of the others raised an eyebrow.

"Hinata?" Kakashi asked before smiling. "It's about time."

"I highly doubt it's what we're hoping," Ryuu said, turning back to the front. "So, who wants to start things off?"

"Sand Tsunami!" a familiar voice said just before sand flooded into the statues from off to the side, swallowing a bunch of them and shoving more off of the cliff to the left. "Giant Sand Burial!"

A wave shot across the sand as it compressed, crushing the statues in it. Then, Gaara landed beside Ryuu.

"Hello Gaara," Ryuu grinned. "Right on time."

"It's good to see you again Fu," Gaara said.

"Hey!" Ryuu said, Gaara smiling slightly, Ryuu's eyes widening. "Holy shit. Gaara learned how to joke around."

"Will wonders never cease," Fu smiled. "First Naruto's worried about Hinata, and now this? It must be a genjutsu."

"You're hilarious," Gaara grumbled, crossing his arms. "I think we have work to do."

"But you crushed them all," Ryuu said, just before more statues began to stomp into the area from a path off to the right. "Oh, you're right."

"I think we can probably handle them," Fu said.

"Oh easily," Ryuu smiled. "Compared to Mhao, this is nothing."

Fu nodded in agreement and the four of them charged, Gaara riding on a cloud of sand. Ryuu sped ahead, beginning to flicker and tearing into the statues as they began to spread out. However, after a few seconds, he felt the muscles in his right leg twitch and ended his Body Flicker Technique, slashing one last statue and leaping away from them. Just as he landed, his right leg's muscles spasmed and he stabbed his sword into the ground to keep from falling.

"Are you okay?" Fu asked, stopping beside him as Kakashi and Gaara passed them, both tearing into the statues.

"Yeah," Ryuu said, testing his leg gingerly. "I think I pulled a muscle during my fight with Zetsu."

"In your right leg?" Fu asked. "Is that even possible?"

"That's what it feels like," Ryuu shrugged, extending his wings and hovering just above the ground. "Anyway, let's hurry up and tear these things apart."

Fu nodded and they turned, both streaking into the ranks of the statues again, Ryuu forming a Chidori in his left hand this time. He flipped past a sword, slamming the Chidori into the statue's chest, blasting the torso into rubble, then slashed the next across the torso. An axe swung around at him and he flipped out of the way, slashing that statue's head in half, then shot into the air, huffing indignantly as that statue kept walking.

"What a pain," Ryuu grumbled. "It'd be helpful if they'd break easier."

Just then, a lightning wolf shot out of Kakashi's Lightning Blade, exploding through statue after statue before finally disconnecting from Kakashi's hand and exploding, blasting several more. Then, Kakashi and a clone began to run forward, their Lightning Blades connected by a beam of electricity, which smashed through the statues with ease.

Ryuu grinned, just as Kiba and Akamaru spun into the area in a pair of spiraling grey blurs, smashing through several statues each before landing off to the side, Kiba instantly griping about how hard the statues were just before Choji exploded into the statues as a human boulder, sending them flying but not breaking them.

"Alright, brute force it is," Ryuu grinned and put his tanto away, letting the Chidori fade and shot down at the statues, punching down on one and smashing it, cratering the ground and hurling dozens away from himself.

Fu landed beside him and he placed a Repulsion Seal on each of her hands as well before they both took off, blasting through the statues rapidly and easily. He skidded to a stop after about a dozen, stopping just in time for a swarm of ink mice to flood out of a hole in the ground, swarming onto the statues and transforming into explosive seals, which then went off, demolishing almost fifty statues in one go. Ryuu grinned as Shin landed behind him, slashing a statue with a Vacuum Blade before it could slash Ryuu.

"Thanks," Ryuu grinned. "Welcome to the party."

"Fun party," Shin said. "Tons of targets to wipe out, and not a single living thing to kill."

"My kinda party," Ryuu grinned, streaking forward and drilling a punch over Fu's shoulder into a statue that had moved to slash her, blasting a it, then demolishing a group behind it with its debris.

"Thanks," Fu beamed.

"Any time," Ryuu smiled.

"Get a room!" Kiba said as he landed beside them, then took off again, tearing through the statues, more knocking them back than damaging them now.

Then, Sakura fell from above, her fist hitting the ground and doing almost as much damage as Ryuu's Repulsion Seals. Ryuu's eyes widened and he paled.

"Christ, she's a monster," Ryuu said. "It never occurred to me just hw strong she's gotten."

"Just think, Lady Tsunade's still stronger," Fu said, punching another statue.

"Fuck," Ryuu said, shaking his head. "Konoha women are terrifying."

"I scare you?" Fu asked, grinning.

"Are you kidding me?" Ryuu laughed. "The thought of having to fight you gives me almost as many nightmares as my job."

Fu laughed, punching three statues and demolishing them before looking around. "We're starting to run out of garden gnomes."

Ryuu looked around and realized she was right. The rest of the Konoha 11, along with their teachers and Temari, were around them, all of them tearing through the statues with whatever jutsu they had that could destroy them. As a result, they were down to maybe a hundred statues. And then, about a minute later, they were out.

"Man," Ryuu said, surveying the field of broken statue pieces. "We're freaks."

"Indeed we are," Kiba said, surveying their work proudly. "At least it's safe to say no one can beat Konoha."

"I don't know," Ryuu said. "The Hidden Cloud has two Jinchuriki."

"So do we," Kiba said. "One of which is Fu."

"That's true," Ryuu said. "Still though. It's not smart to say that _no one_ can beat us. I definitely don't feel like challenging the Akatsuki to an all-out war. I'd rather pick them off one at a time. Preferably starting with Zetsu, since he's the most annoying fuck I've met, even more so than Mhao."

"Did something happen?" Sakura asked. "You _never_ want someone dead."

"I've wanted people dead before," Ryuu said. "I just don't want to kill."

"You seem to have been getting used to it, at least," Lee said, walking over. "You seem less haunted than usual."

Ryuu fell silent, staring at the ground.

"That's because you don't see him at night," Fu said quietly. "He's not less haunted. He's just learning to hide it, and to function on very little sleep."

"Is it really that bad?" Tenten asked.

"Worse," Ryuu said. "But it doesn't matter. I'll do what I have to do."

Just then, there was a massive crash from deep under the temple. They all turned to look, seeing an orangish red light glowing from inside.

"We should go," Ryuu said.

"Yeah," Fu agreed.

Ryuu created a clone for about half of them, all of the Ryuus extending their wings and grabbing someone as they flew away, Gaara bringing the rest with his sand. They all fled to a cliff over a mile away and landed on it, Ryuu's clones bursting into clouds of smoke as they watched the mountain they had just left explode, lava erupting into the air before flooding back down the outside.

"Well, it could have played out a lot worse than this, I guess," Kakashi said after a while of watching the eruption.

"They ended up creating a new volcano, huh?" Lee chuckled.

"That knucklehead," Shikamaru sighed.

"That's what you get for leaving it to him," Temari said.

"Anyone want to take bets on Naruto and Hinata finally getting together?" Ryuu asked.

"Nah," Kiba said. "He's too stupid for that."

"I've got to agree with Kiba," Sakura said. "She was too shy to do tell him during the mission, and she couldn't be around him without getting embarrassed."

"I don't know," Ryuu said. "He was pretty worried about her when I hinted that she might be fighting statues inside the temple. Which he just blew up. What the hell was he fighting anyway?"

"Probably Moryo," Fu said. "Chomei sensed something really powerful and dark inside the temple."

"Well, I'm still holding out hope for them to have gotten together," Tenten said.

"Aren't we all," Neji sighed, everyone staring at him. "What? If she gets Naruto to like her back, she'll probably be confident enough to earn the position of heiress back from Hanabi."

"I don't think she wants it," Ryuu said. "She'd just have to give it up to marry Naruto anyway."

"True," Neji nodded.

Just then, Naruto walked out of a cloud off to the side with a blonde in his arms, Hinata just behind him. Ryuu stared at the blonde. He could guess that this was the Priestess, but what shocked him was that she was almost identical to Hinata. The main differences were her blonde hair and violet eyes, as opposed to Hinata's dark blue hair and pale lavender eyes.

"Jesus Christ," Ryuu said.

"They could be twins," Fu said.

"I know right?" Lee said.

"There you are!" Tayuya said. "What's the big idea pawning me off to spend the entire mission with that creep?"

"That's kinda rude," Ryuu said. "What'd Shino do?"

"Not Shino," Tayuya said. "Shino's awesome, if a little unsettling with his bugs. I mean Kiba."

"Yeah, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows for me either bitch," Kiba growled.

"Kiba," Shino said, Kiba sighing.

"Sorry," Ryuu said. "I didn't think about that. I just needed to give Hinata a chance to tell Naruto the truth. Speaking of, what happened Hinata?"

"I was too nervous," Hinata said. "I couldn't talk to him."

"I heard," Ryuu said. "Oh well. We'll get you there."

Hinata's eyes widened, and she blushed, but nodded. They all looked over at Naruto and the Priestess.

"And of course, there's my power," the priestess was saying. "It has to be passed on to the next priestess too. How about it Naruto, you want to help me with that?"

Everyone's jaws bounced off the ground. There's no way she had just asked that, right? Ryuu saw the Priestess shoot Naruto a teasing smile and shook his head. Well, at least Naruto was smart enough to understand what she'd said. He stopped, remembering who he was referring to.

"You bet," Naruto grinned, giving the Priestess a thumbs up. "You know me, I'm always up for anything."

Everyone stared at Naruto in shock for another moment before Ryuu's right fist, now devoid of Repulsion Seals, bounced off of Naruto's head.

"You dumbass!" Ryuu snapped.

"What?" Naruto asked, rubbing his head.

The Priestess giggled and leaned in, whispering to Naruto, who's face turned scarlet instantly, then began to darken.

"Uh...uh...uh...I...uh...I gotta...uh...Oh look, it's time to go!" Naruto stammered. "Come on Lee, I'll race you back!"

And then he was sprinting away. Everyone stared after him for several moments before bursting out laughing.

"Hinata, I'm so sorry," the Priestess said. "I should have known he'd be stupid enough to not understand."

"It's alright Shion," Hinata smiled. "Naruto's not the brightest in the world."

"And yet you love him anyway," Shion smiled, Hinata blushing almost as darkly as Naruto had. "I'm sure he'll come to his senses soon."

"Thank you," Hinata smiled, then turned to the others. "We should go."

"Right," Kakashi nodded. "Come on everyone. I'm sure Naruto's probably lost by now anyway."

Ryuu chuckled. "Maybe if Hinata rescues him, he'll give her a kiss."

Hinata's face began to rapidly darken.

"Don't tease the poor girl," Tenten said.

"You're right," Ryuu said. "I'm sorry."

They began to shat about anything they could think of as they travelled, making it back to the Hidden Leaf in about a day and a half.

* * *

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	99. Chapter 99

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Training

Ryuu watched as Hinata and Fu sparred with their swords, the two moving around and around the Third Training Ground as they fought. Hinata had obviously been keeping up with her kenjutsu training while Ryuu was away, and more than a couple of times, she stepped in close to Fu, the way Fu and Ryuu had done during their last training session to show off so long ago. Of course, having the Byakugan to cover her blind spots definitely helped Hinata. Finally, though, Fu tripped her and placed her Water Sword to Hinata's throat.

"Well done Hinata," Ryuu smiled, then looked to the side, seeing Yugao fighting Naruto on semi-even level.

She was holding back, of course, but Naruto had clearly been training with a sword since the last time Ryuu and Fu had tested him after rescuing Gaara. Finally, Yuga pinned Naruto to the ground, sword to his throat, and Naruto froze.

"Well done," Ryuu said. "You've improved, Naruto."

"Thanks," Naruto said as Yugao pulled him up. "So, what's next?"

"Next, you're going to get extremely jealous, at the same time as you train in something new," Ryuu said.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"You've got Wind Style Chakra, so you're going to learn some Wind Style Ninjutsu," Ryuu said.

"I think I have an idea for that as well," Kakashi said, walking into the field.

"Hello Kakashi," Ryuu greeted him.

"Hello Ryuu," Kakashi smiled. "Anyway, Naruto, did you know that I was the Fourth Hokage's student?"

"You were?" Naruto asked.

"That's right," Kakashi said. "So, once Ryuu's taught you a handful of Wind Style Jutsus, I'm going t teach you to improve this," Kakashi formed a Rasengan.

"Aw, no fair!" Naruto complained. "You can do the Rasengan better than me."

"That wasn't the point I was trying to make," Kakashi said. "You see, the Rasengan is an incomplete jutsu."

"It is?" Naruto asked.

"Yes," Kakashi said. "The Fourth Hokage intended to combine a change in Chakra Nature with it, but failed. He taught it to me in hopes that I could combine my Lightning Style chakra with it, but I also failed. But I have a feeling that you can do it."

"Really?" Naruto asked, grinning. "That's awesome! Let's do it now!"

"Not so fast Naruto," Ryuu said. "First you'll be learning some other Wind Style jutsus from me."

"But why?" Naruto asked. "A Wind Style Rasengan would be s much cooler!"

"Naruto, how many jutsus do you know?" Ryuu asked.

"Uh...well...Rasengan, Summoning Jutsu, Shadow Clone Jutsu, Substitution Jutsu..." Naruto trailed off trying to think.

"So four," Ryuu said. "If you learn to combine your chakra nature with the Rasengan, which would be at minimum months worth of training, you'll know four, plus a variation of one. I know around fifty of each element, plus variations. The less jutsus you know, the easier it is for an enemy to predict your next move. For example, will you send in a fake to fight for you, or will you try to shove a ball of chakra into my stomach? But I can teach you a lot more jutsus, for example...Wind Style, Air Bullet." He exhaled a barrage of Air Bullets that exploded into a tree, blasting chunks out of it. "Or the stronger but more difficult Wind Style, Vacuum Bullets." He exhaled several cylindrical Wind Chakra blasts that punched completely through the tree. "Or there's this." He waved his hand, sending out an arc of wind that smashed through the tree, breaking it off. "Wind Sword." He hurled several disks of compressed, near-invisible air, the disks streaking across the field and slicing the tree into small pieces, the leaves still drifting through the air. "Wind Style, Pressure Damage." He sent a weak one out, hitting the pile and blasting it into sawdust while blowing the leaves away. "But hey, if you'd rather just learn a single variation to your Rasengan, which will use up all of your chakra in a single use anyway, that's cool too." He turned away, like he was going to leave.

"No please!" Naruto said, catching his arm. "Please teach me that!"

Ryuu grinned, turning back around. "Sure." He formed a shadow clone. "My clone will teach you to use your Wind Chakra, that way you can use those jutsus, then will teach you the jutsus afterward. Kakashi, while he's at it, will you teach Naruto what Shadow Clones are really useful for?"

"Sure," Kakashi said, forming a clone of his own. "Naruto, form a clone to go with mine while you train."

"Okay," Naruto nodded, confused.

Kakashi's clone walked away with Naruto's and Ryuu's clone handed Naruto a leaf, telling him to focus his Wind Style Chakra into it in order to split it like chakra paper. After several minutes of looking like he was constipated, Naruto opened his hands and complained about it being impossible. In response, Ryuu's clone held up a leaf with two fingers and split it instantly. Ryuu chuckled, shaking his head before focusing on making a Rasengan properly. After several hour, everyone took a break, heading to Ichiraku's for lunch, then headed back to the training ground, continuing where they'd left off. Except, this time, Kakashi had Naruto create a hundred clones in order to speed up his training, Naruto having finally learned that clones' memories were transferred to the original after they were dispersed. Ryuu returned to his own training as well, Fu seated beside him, also trying to create a proper Rasengan. Finally, just as the sun was beginning to set, Ryuu managed to get it right, checking it with his Sharingan and smiling. He let the Rasengan fade and stood, dusting himself off and walked over to his clone, setting his hand on its shoulder and reabsorbing the chakra from inside the clone, smiling as the memories of Naruto's progress filtered into his brain. Naruto had gone from no effect n the leaf, to a tiny split, barely bigger than the ridges on the outside of the leaf.

"I got it!" one of the Narutos cheered suddenly, holding up a halfway split leaf.

"Well done," Ryuu said. "Keep trying. You're halfway there."

"How long did it take you to figure this out?" Naruto asked.

Ryuu raised an eyebrow. In truth, he had been able to perform change in chakra nature since he was a child. However, he didn't feel like spoiling Naruto's mood.

"About a week," Ryuu said. "Two to get the full leaf. If you get the full leaf by the end of today, I'll teach you one of my personal favorite Wind Style jutsus."

Naruto grinned and nodded, setting back to work. Ryuu smiled, turning to Hinata, who had been practicing with her Kenjutsu and Taijutsu with Yugao all day. He walked over just as Hinata's sword fell to the ground, her arms apparently too weak to continue.

"Not bad," Ryuu said. "You lasted a lot longer than I expected."

"Thanks," Hinata smiled. "I still couldn't beat her, though."

"Maybe not, but you lasted longer than I would have trying," Ryuu chuckled, using Medical Ninjutsu to repair her muscles enough for her to regain use of her arms. "Anyway, we're just about done for today. You can stick around and watch Naruto struggle if you want, or you can head home."

"I'll wait," Hinata said.

Ryuu nodded and turned back to Naruto just as one of the many, many Narutos cheered, leaping into the air and holding two halves of a split leaf. Ryuu raised an eyebrow and smirked. "He's a quick study. A little motivation and he doubles his training time. Impressive."

"He's always been like that," Hinata smiled.

"I suppose he has, yeah," Ryuu nodded. "Alright Naruto! Time to call it a day!"

Naruto grinned and nodded, releasing all of his clones, only to collapse from exhaustion, Hinata catching him. "Thanks Hinata."

"Of course," Hinata said, blushing profusely, though Naruto was too tired to notice.

"You mind helping him home Hinata?" Ryuu asked.

Hinata nodded and turned, walking away with Naruto as Ryuu walked back to Kakashi and Fu.

"He made some good progress," Ryuu said, looking at all of the nearly-split leaves around him. "A few more minutes and he'd have gotten them all."

"What jutsu are you going to teach him as a reward?" Kakashi asked.

"I don't know yet," Ryuu said, looking up at the darkening sky. "I'll figure it out while he's refining his Wind Style chakra tomorrow. Now, if you'll excuse me, Fu and I have something to do."

Fu smiled, taking his hand as both extended their wings, flying up into the sky to watch the sunset. After a while, the last of the sun's rays faded from the sky and they flew down to their room's window, slipping in through it and both stripping down to their underwear, as had become common recently, as Fu always made it too hot to keep their pajamas on anyway, then climbed into bed. Ryuu closed his eyes and placed his hands together above himself , praying for forgiveness for his sins, and for a peaceful night's rest, before setting his right hand down, wrapping the other around Fu, who reached across him to slip her hand into his right. He smiled, kissing the top of her head before closing his eyes, struggling to fall asleep. Fu remained awake, waiting patiently for him to fall asleep before she would, as she always did. She was right about him functioning on very little sleep, but she functioned on even less because she waited for him to go to sleep before she would, then woke up every hour to make sure he wasn't having a nightmare.

Finally, sleep claimed Ryuu, and he sunk into the dark void of his nightmares, the voices of those he'd killed beginning to scream at him almost instantly, their faces swirling around him as clammy, rotting hands reached out of the darkness to tear at him. And there he sat, praying for forgiveness throughout his entire nightmare, as he always did. At least, for as long as it took him to wake up. Once he did, he'd spend a few minutes allowing Fu's presence to calm him, then would drift back off to sleep.

* * *

Ryuu watched as Kakashi condensed the lightning in his hand into his Lightning Blade. He looked down at his own hand and focused, copying Kakashi. After several moments, he let it fade and sighed. It was a lot more exhausting than the Chidori, however, as Kakashi had proven, it was also a lot more powerful. Ryuu liked it, but he was going to have to get used to the extra drain on his chakra. He looked off to the side where Naruto was using one of Ryuu's shadow clones' trench knives to practice the Flying Swallow technique. He wasn't getting it very well, however. He was barely managing to grasp the concept of streaming his chakra, let alone streaming it correctly. Ryuu looked to the other side where his other clone was teaching Hinata some low-level Lightning and Fire Style jutsus. She was picking it up faster than Naruto, but it was also her first time learning any ninjutsu that relied on using her chakra element, so she was struggling.

"You seem a bit unfocused today," Fu said, slipping her hand into his. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah," Ryuu said. "I'm just...tired I guess."

"Is it Mhao?" Fu asked.

Ryuu was silent for a long while. "It's stupid. For the longest time, he was constantly hounding me and making it impossible to do anything without worrying about him showing up. But...now that he's gone..."

"It feels like something's missing?" Fu asked.

"Not exactly," Ryuu said. "More like...like I'm constantly looking for something to do, but can't find anything that I _want_ to do."

Fu nodded. "I feel the same. We may not like it, but he was a large part of our lives. And he was a part of the reason why you became as strong as you did. Like it or not, a part of your life is over." She leaned in, kissing him on the cheek. "But if you're looking for something to do, I happen to live pretty close to you."

Ryuu smirked, shaking his head. "Yeah, practically in the same house."

Fu grinned and kissed him for a minute before turning and walking away. "I'm going to go shopping. I'm supposed to meet Yugao. I'll see you in a while, alright?"

"Sure," Ryuu smiled. "Be careful."

"I will," Fu smiled.

She left and Ryuu turned back to the front, taking a deep breath before drawing his tanto and trench knife, turning to Kakashi and activating his Sharingan. Kakashi watched him for a moment before pulling his forehead protector up out of the way, opening his Sharingan as he drew a pair of kunai, and they both charged. Fu was right. He just had to find something to occupy his time. And he chose to devote whatever bit of life he had freed up by finishing Mhao to making sure Fu was safe and happy. And as he trained with Kakashi, some part of his mind decided exactly what he wanted to do.

* * *

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	100. Chapter 100

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Summons

Ryuu stepped into the house and Fu smiled over at him from where she was cooking.

"How'd it go?" Fu asked.

"No good," Ryuu sighed. "Hinata still isn't confident enough to ask Naruto out. I don't know what to do with her."

"You could always put her under a genjutsu to give her a confidence boost," Tayuya suggested.

"No," Ryuu sighed. "That's no good. That'd just make them think I manipulated them into dating."

"Isn't that what you're doing?" Tayuya asked.

"Yes but they don't need to know that," Ryuu said.

"You could try locking them in a room together," Fu said.

"Naruto's not bright enough for that to result in anything," Ryuu said. "Eh. I'll figure something out. So, what did you two do today?"

"Not a lot," Fu shrugged. "We worked on Tayuya's taijutsu a bit, and I helped Naruto with his Wind Style training, since _someone_ wasn't there to help him."

"He knows what he needs to do," Ryuu said. "So does Kakashi."

"Yes, but you agreed to help him, and you're not," Fu said.

"Yes I am," Ryuu said. "He just doesn't realize it yet."

Fu rolled her eyes as Ryuu finished setting the table, Fu setting the food on the table just as Yugao walked in, smiling as she smelled the food. They all got cleaned up and sat around the table, Ryuu taking a moment to pray before digging in. After they had eaten, Ryuu gave Fu a quick kiss and thanked her for the meal before he left, heading into the village. After a while of walking, he reached Tsunade's office, knocking on the door. A moment later, it opened and Kabuto smiled upon seeing Ryuu.

"Ah, Ryuu, perfect timing," Tsunade said. "I was just about to send Kabuto for you."

"Why?" Ryuu asked, Tsunade motioning for him to enter.

He did so and placed a Silencing Seal on the door.

"I've received a message from Sasuke," Kabuto said, Ryuu turning to him. "He wants to meet with you right away. He sent us a location to meet him at."

"I sense this isn't going to be as easy as heading over and having a nice peaceful chat," Ryuu said.

"No," Tsunade said. "The location is on the border of the Land of Lightning. Relations with the Hidden Cloud have been...spotty, recently. You can't be detected, especially meeting with a Missing Nin like Sasuke."

"Any idea what Sasuke wants to talk about?" Ryuu asked.

"No," Tsunade said. "That's why it's extremely important that you go."

"Who am I taking?" Ryuu asked. "Naruto, obviously."

"Actually, Naruto is needed for a mission with the rest of his team and Yamato," Tsunade said. "Kakashi will be going with you, though."

"Who's Yamato?" Ryuu asked.

"Oh, I never introduced you, did I?" Tsunade asked. "Kabuto, could you please go and get Yamato?"

Kabuto nods and leaves, the seal deactivating as he opened the door, before reactivating when it closed.

"As a heads up, Yamato knows about Sasuke," Tsunade said. "Anyway, you'll be taking Fu and Kakashi. Aside form that, I would like you to take Tobi, since I still don't trust him, and I recommend you only take anyone else if they're absolutely essential and trust worthy. Sasuke will likely have to fight you all to escape without giving up his secret."

"I'm going to tell Fu and Kakashi the truth on the way, and Tobi knows, since he had his eye on me for a while, apparently," Ryuu said. "Aside from that, I don't think I'll take anyone else. What is Naruto's mission?"

"Someone desecrated a grave," Tsunade said. "It was one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, so the Fire Temple asked us to look into it, so I'm sending Naruto's team and Yamato."

Just then, the seal deactivated and Kabuto stepped in and out of the way, allowing another man with messy brown hair and a mask-style forehead protector to step in as well, Kabuto closing the door again.

"Ryuu, this is Yamato," Tsunade introduced him. "He's an ANBU temporarily working as a Jonin and a stand-in for Kakashi."

"Why?" Ryuu asked.

"I possess Wood Style Ninjutsu," Yamato said. "With you around her, Fu is safe from the Akatsuki, more or less, but Zetsu can appear anywhere, and is incredibly dangerous. However, as a fellow Wood Style user, I can help fight him better than most, due to knowing how his ninjutsu works."

"So you can grow roots out of your body?" Ryuu asked.

"Roots?" Yamato asked. "No. Beams." He held out a hand, a small, square metal shaft extending from his palm a few inches, the end of it as a point. "I can make them various sizes and shapes."

"Impressive," Ryuu said, activating his Sharingan for a moment before deactivating it again. "It's weaker than Zetsu's. Zetsu forms actual trees and roots. But I suppose you _would_ be extremely helpful."

"He was assigned to guard Naruto for another reason," Tsunade said. "You've seen the necklace Naruto wears, right?"

"The little green crystal?" Ryuu asked. "Yeah."

"It's capable of suppressing the Nine-tails' chakra, when combined with my Wood Style Ninjutsu. Since Naruto doesn't have control of his Tailed Beast, he goes berserk when he uses its power," Yamato said. "You know about the tailed Beast Cloak?"

Ryuu nodded.

"During his training with Jiraiya, he reached three tails and was lost to his anger," Yamato said. "However, at four tails, he entered a state where the cloak was more condensed and darker."

"Version Two," Ryuu said.

"Right," Yamato nodded. "When he entered that state, he went completely out of his control and nearly killed Jiraiya. However, Jiraiya managed to bring him under control again. However, the chakra left Naruto's body covered in severe burns."

"Yeah, the chakra's corrosive," Ryuu nodded. "And it doesn't heal well, even with Medical Ninjutsu. The chakra's so strong it fights against Medical Ninjutsu."

"I'm there to make sure that Naruto comes back under control if he loses control," Yamato said.

"Okay," Ryuu nodded. "That's smart. So, about my mission. Ground rules. If we get discovered or caught, what are we allowed to do?"

"Try not to," Tsunade said. "However, don't start a war. No fighting if it's not necessary. If you're arrested, I'll try and get you released, though, it might be a while."

Ryuu nodded. "Alright. I can handle that. Did Sasuke give a timeframe for when to meet him?"

"Two days from now," Kabuto said.

"Well, I'd better get moving then," Ryuu smiled. "I'll send word with Yomo if we run into an emergency, and a normal hawk if anything else happens."

"Why?" Tsunade asked.

"Because Yomo's faster," Ryuu said. "I can use a reverse summoning jutsu to send him to Yugao, who knows to send him to you if he ever gets sent to her."

"I'll keep her off of any missions until you get back," Tsunade said.

"Alright, see you whenever I get back," Ryuu said, turning to leave. "Oh, and Yamato, Naruto's supposed to be learning to use his Wind Style chakra to learn a handful of ninjutsu I'm going to give him, and also learning to combine it with his Rasengan. In the mean time, have him split a waterfall with Wind Style Chakra."

Yamato nodded and Ryuu let his Silencing Seal fade, leaving the room and heading quickly to his house, heading up to his and Fu's room. She was in the middle of sharpening her tanto, and smiled up at him as he entered, not bothering to stop.

"I went to see Tsunade," Ryuu said. "I was going to ask for a vacation extension."

"But something came up," Fu smiled knowingly. "What is it?"

"Sasuke wants to meet," Ryuu said.

"I see," Fu nodded. "Must be important then."

"Yeah," Ryuu sighed. "Technically, you're supposed to only just now be finding out about this."

Fu smiled. "As if you could keep a secret from me."

Ryuu smiled and opened Yomo's cage, Yomo hopping out on to his shoulder. Ryuu tapped his foot and Tobi rose out of the ground.

"You're coming too," Ryuu said. "And how many times have I told you not to spy on Fu?"

"But Tobi likes Fu," Tobi said. "She's really nice to Tobi."

"Don't care," Ryuu said. "No spying."

"Okay," Tobi sighed.

Ryuu picked up his tanto's harness and pulled it on, followed by his kunai pouch and finally his ninja tool pouch. He turned to the door, where Fu was waiting patiently with Tobi, who had pulled on a black cloak with a hood, which was down at the moment. Ryuu picked up a scroll he had written most of the Wind Style Jutsus he knew on and they left, heading to the Third Training Ground. Naruto and Kakashi turned to them and Ryuu tossed the scroll to Naruto.

"One clone working on them while the rest work on whatever you're doing at the moment," Ryuu said.

"I'll be helping him with his training," Yamato said.

"I take it I'm going on a mission?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah," Ryuu nodded. "And you should be ready for Orochimaru. There's a good chance we'll meet him."

"I see," Kakashi nodded. "I guess I can get the specifics on the way. I'll meet you all at the Main Gate."

Ryuu nodded and they went to the gate, Tobi travelling in the ground to keep anyone who didn't already know about him from learning about him. Ryuu stared at his right hand as they waited, remembering the first time he had worn Tobi and had used the Cutting Sprigs Jutsu that Zetsu kept using without even realizing what he was doing.

"Hey Tobi, am I able to use Wood Style Ninjutsu?" Ryuu asked. "Because of my arm?"

"Yeah," Tobi said without revealing himself. "I can teach you if you want."

"Sure," Ryuu nodded.

Just then, Kakashi landed in front of them, a pair of scrolls on his hips.

"What're those?" Ryuu asked.

"Just some special surprises for Orochimaru," Kakashi said. "Shall we?"

"Yeah," Ryuu nodded, leaving the village with the others and turning North, Tobi growing out of the ground as they travelled. "Okay, so, the specifics of the mission are...complicated."

"How so?" Kakashi asked.

"You remember how Sasuke deserted the village out of the blue to join Orochimaru, and we all almost died trying to get him back?" Ryuu asked. "Well, that was actually all a ploy by Sasuke and myself to get him into deep cover in Orochimaru's...group? Organization?"

"Sasuke's in deep cover?" Kakashi asked. "So he's not a traitor? Thank God."

"Yeah," Ryuu smiled. "I figured you might say something like that. Anyway, he contacted Kabuto that he needed to meet with me right away, so we're heading to the border of the Land of Lightning to meet him. There's a chance Orochimaru will show up, and there's also a chance we'll be arrested. If we are, Tsunade ordered us t not start a war. She'll try to get us released if we get arrested. But, obviously, we should make an effort to avoid that."

"That would probably be for the best," Kakashi agreed. "Do we know what it's about?"

"No," Ryuu said. "Only that it's important."

Kakashi nodded. "Very well. May I ask what the two of you have planned for Itachi if you ever meet him?"

"We both want him to explain his actions," Ryuu said. "Beyond that, it depends on his answers."

"I see," Kakashi nodded. "Alright. Why was I sent?"

"I think Tsunade just wanted an excuse for you to find out the truth," Ryuu said. "But it might be something else. Maybe to help us escape trouble with the Land of Lightning."

Kakashi nodded. "That's true."

"Tobi, do you sense Zetsu?" Ryuu asked.

"No," Tobi said. "But Zetsu's faster than me. He might show up while we're there. You and Sasuke together would be a threat."

"Good," Ryuu said. "I'm glad they're scared. It'll make them make mistakes."

Tobi remained silent, so they all continued on in silence as well.

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	101. Chapter 101

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Interruptions

Ryuu watched from the shadows of the building in silence as the others got into position to ambush Orochimaru if he showed up. Ryuu would be meeting with Sasuke alone at first, and if Orochimaru didn't show up, Kakashi would join them. Fu and Tobi would continue to watch for Orochimaru or Akatsuki, with Tobi especially watching for Zetsu.

"I'm ready," Fu reported quietly over their short-range communicators.

"Same," Kakashi said.

"Tobi is ready," Tobi said.

"Good," Ryuu said. "Tobi, make sure you pay attention. If Zetsu interrupts and you don't warn us first, or attack him before he can get to one of us, I'm going to be extremely mad."

"I will," Tobi said.

"Good," Ryuu said. "It's almost time. Everyone keep your eyes open."

Everyone remained silent, but from where he was, he could sense them all, so he knew they had heard him. Finally, Sasuke stepped out of the shadows of a building off to the side, walking over to Ryuu and stopping.

"It's been a long time Ryuu," Sasuke said. "You look good. Except for that thing attached to your side."

"Courtesy of Madara Uchiha, and made necessary by Hidan and Kakuzu," Ryuu said. "You seem a lot less sociable than when you left."

"And you seem a lot less innocent," Sasuke said. "You have the eyes of a killer now. I heard you were imprisoned. I'm sorry. I wish I could have helped you."

"It's alright," Ryuu said. "It's over now. And it made me strong."

Sasuke nodded. "Orochimaru's body is starting to break down. It's getting close to time."

"Be sure to make him suffer for me too," Ryuu said.

"I will," Sasuke nodded. "After I kill him, I'll be looking for Itachi. But I need help."

"Just let me know where to meet you," Ryuu said.

"Not you," Sasuke said. "I'll let you know where he is when I find him and you can meet me there. I need someone else."

"Who?" Ryuu asked.

"Suigetsu and Karin," Sasuke said. "I need Suigetsu's skill with a sword to keep Kisame busy, and Karin can help me search for Itachi."

"Alright," Ryuu nodded. "Let me know where to have them meet you and I'll send them."

Sasuke nodded.

"Are you coming home?" Ryuu asked.

"After we deal with Itachi," Sasuke said. "Probably."

"You know, Sakura's still waiting for you to come back to her, right?" Ryuu said, Sasuke staring at the ground. "Just come home. Everyone wants to see you."

Sasuke sighed, staring at the ground. "Everyone sees me as a traitor."

"Not true," Kakashi said, walking over. "Once the situation is explained, everyone will welcome you home."

"Kakashi," Sasuke said before smiling slightly. "It's good to see you."

"And you," Kakashi smiled.

"Any change?" Ryuu asked.

"Not at the moment," Kakashi said. "But we probably shouldn't stay here much longer."

Ryuu nodded. "Alright." He turned back to Sasuke who smiled. "Sorry."

"It's alright," Sasuke said. "Just one last thing. I've decided what I want to do about Itachi."

"What's that?" Ryuu asked.

"I want to bring him home," Sasuke said. "If he's not too far gone, I want to pull a you and Naruto and save him."

"I'll see what I can-"

"Akatsuki!" Fu shouted, leaping down to land beside them. "They're attacking the Two-tails' Jinchuriki nearby."

"Who?" Ryuu asked.

"I don't know," Fu said.

"Let's go," Ryuu nodded. "Sasuke?"

"Sure, I'll come along," Sasuke grinned. "It's been forever since I've fought with you."

Ryuu nodded, extending his wings and picking up Sasuke before shooting into the air, Fu just behind him, leaving Kakashi behind as Tobi followed through the ground. They sped across the Land of Lightning's border and deeper into the nation before finally reaching a ruined city. The buildings had been in the shape of cones, or mountains, but only one was intact. Two more had massive rounded scoops taken out of them, big enough for a quarter of Konoha to take shelter inside, and the rest were all gone. The ruins were a field of debris and boulders, certain spots being as deep as the sewer. Somewhere near the middle of the ruin, there was a girl with long, straight, blonde hair staked to a broken wall with a metal rod through both hands over her head. On the ground in front of the wall, Hidan was lying in a blood seal. Ryuu snarled in rage, picking up speed as he shot down toward Hidan and the Jinchuriki.

Sasuke glanced up at Ryuu, but Ryuu ignored him. He released Sasuke directly over Hidan, instantly hurling a kunai with chakra streaming over the blade before turning and streaking up at the Jinchuriki. The kunai drilled through the edge of the seal, breaking it less than a second before Sasuke shoved a Chidori through Hidan's chest, then leapt away from him as Kakuzu appeared beside him, punching and only barely missing. Ryuu's right fist exploded into the wall, shattering it before his left arm caught the Jinchuriki, carrying her away from the inevitable battlefield. He set her on the ground and Fu landed beside him as he ripped the pole out of her hands.

"Heal her," Ryuu snarled.

"Ryuu," Fu said, catching his hand. "Remember who you are."

Ryuu stared at her for a moment before smiling and nodding. "I won't. I love you Fu."

"I'll see you when you get back," Fu said.

Ryuu nodded and took off again, reaching the spot where Sasuke, and now Tobi, were fighting Hidan and Kakuzu in time to plant his foot in Hidan's side, stopping him from slashing Sasuke's back, and sending him exploding into Kakuzu as Kakuzu moved t punch Tobi, both Akatsuki members bouncing along the ground for a moment before rolling to a stop.

"Tobi protect Fu and the Jinchuriki," Ryuu ordered, Tobi sinking into the ground instantly. "Sasuke, use that sword of yours to handle Hidan."

Sasuke glanced at him and Ryuu used his Sharingan to transfer Sasuke his memories of fighting Hidan and his abilities. Sasuke blinked and nodded, drawing his sword. Ryuu turned back to the front, head snapping to the side as Kakuzu's punch passed over his shoulder. Ryuu's left fist hardened and a repulsion seal appeared on it before it exploded into Kakuzu's gut, black cords exploding out of his back like a baseball's guts. The mass of cords pulled tight on the fragments of body making up Kakuzu and suddenly he jerked into motion backward, sailing away, limbs flailing. Then, he flipped, crashing to the ground in a tangle of limbs and cords. However, just as he did, Sasuke crashed to the ground beside Ryuu, Hidan leaping at him, scythe pulled back and a crazed smile taking up his face. However, Ryuu turned, forming hand seals before blasting Hidan with a Pressure Damage, sending him blasting through the intact city, which began to collapse into itself a moment later, apparently not as intact as it had seemed.

"Did he get your blood?" Ryuu asked.

"No," Sasuke said. "He kicked me."

Ryuu nodded, looking between the two. He felt his anger and hatred starting to get the best of him and took a long, slow breath, forcing himself to calm down. "Be careful Sasuke. If you get cursed, let me know and we'll switch targets."

Sasuke nodded just as Kakuzu finished untangling himself and stood, his black cords forming into his four puppets, Kakuzu himself standing. At the same time, Hidan, who had been circling them, stopped opposite them from Kakuzu. Then, they were off, both charging their chosen opponent. Ryuu flipped over a wall of flame and formed hand seals rapidly, sending a Pressure Damage into Kakuzu's own, the two jutsus exploding. The concussion slammed into Ryuu, throwing him high into the air and the lightning puppet moved forward, mouth opening. Ryuu channeled lightning style chakra into four kunai and hurled them at Kakuzu, who blocked them with a forearm, the kunai stabbing into his arm. Then, just as Kakuzu began to speak, his lightning mask fired, the lightning blot making it a few feet before separating into four smaller ones, curving back around the puppet and flashing through the air, hitting the kunai Ryuu had thrown and exploding.

Bits of Kakuzu sailed in every direction, scattered by the explosion, and the four masks all shrieked, beginning to spiral and fire powerful jutsus rapidly. Ryuu swore, flipping and dodging around the jutsus, using the Body Flicker Technique in short bursts to avoid them, only to have to instantly dodge another attack. Finally, after nearly a full minute, he stopped just as Sasuke landed beside him, facing the other way and with blood running down one side of his face.

"He got my blood," Sasuke said. "He bit my head."

Ryuu spun toward Hidan, then stopped, staring at him. His body was still turning into his cursed appearance, but his arms were both missing at the shoulders, and his seal was a hundred feet away still.

"Break Kakuzu's masks," Ryuu said, taking off and slamming a lariat into Hidan's chest just shy of his seal, sending Hidan flipping backward and bouncing along the ground.

He crashed into a massive boulder and fractured it and Ryuu drew his tanto, appearing in front of Hidan instantly and staking him to the boulder with it. Just as he did, Sasuke shouted in pain and Ryuu's head snapped around, seeing Sasuke in the middle of a bounce, Kakuzu's lightning mask about to blast him. He appeared in front of Sasuke instantly, forming a Chidori and shoving it forward, the lightning bolt crashing into it and stopping. Ryuu grit his teeth, shouting in effort and forcing more lightning chakra to his hand, focusing it. Kakashi had once told him his Lightning Blade had cut through a lightning bolt, but he wasn't really sure he had ever believed him. At least, not until the lightning bolt fighting against his Lightning Blade split around Ryuu's hand and blasted into the ground behind him, missing Sasuke.

"Impressive," Kakuzu said, his cords nearly finished reconstructing his body. "I've never seen a jutsu like that before."

"Show me your hearts and I'll let you get a closer loo-"

Blood sprayed into the air from Ryuu's left shoulder, cutting off his voice as he staggered forward a couple of steps before falling to his knees. In front of him, Hidan landed beside Kakuzu on one leg, his other leg bent backward to hold his arms and Ryuu's tanto held in his teeth, Ryuu's blood running down the blade into Hidan's mouth. He turned, hurling the tanto with a flick of his head, sending it stabbing into Ryuu's gut. Ryuu didn't move for a long moment before pulling the blade out, his shoulder finishing sealing and his stomach doing the same in seconds. Then, he glanced at Sasuke, who stepped up beside him, the blood on his face forcing him to keep his left eye closed.

"They've gotten a lot stronger," Sasuke said as Kakuzu reattached Hidan's arms, Hidan forming a seal on the ground.

"Yeah," Ryuu nodded. "Or we've gotten weaker. Right, Zetsu?"

Zetsu rose out of the ground behind Kakuzu and Hidan, watching Ryuu closely. "Impressive. You figured it out faster than I expected. **It's a special poison that slows the** **body's reaction time and motor functions. Without your Sharingan, you'd both barely be able to react at all. As it is, your Sharingan is allowing your brains to function enough to fight off the poison's effects.** "

"I see," Ryuu nodded. "And I'd wager this whole area is filled with it. How long's it last?"

" **Long enough** ," Zetsu said. "It's time to end this. We have a Jinchuriki to deliver. **Two now, once the poison finishes its work on the Seven-tails' Jinchuriki.** "

Ryuu snapped instantly. In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of Hidan, his leg blocking Hidan's and stopping him finishing his seal before his hardened right fist exploded into Hidan's face, the repulsion seal tripling the force, caving Hidan's face in completely before he turned, drilling his other equally destructive fist into Kakuzu's jaw less than a second after moving. Kakuzu's head was also caved in instantly, as well as being sent flying off of his body. Then, Ryuu turned yet again, still in under a second since the beginning of his assault, and shot forward, drilling his right fist into Zetsu's chest, pulverizing his ribs and collapsing his chest. He was launched backward like a shot.

"Get the hell out of my way!" Ryuu turned, swiping a hand as Kakuzu's puppets closed in, only for a massive barrage of Air Bullets to explode into them, filling them all with holes and shattering their masks, destroying the heart powering them each.

"Dammit, where'd he get this kinda power?" Hidan demanded, his face still collapsed and voice muffled, accompanied by a grinding popping sound as his destroyed jaw tried to work.

Black cords shot out of the ground, driving themselves into his head and forcing it back into shape before retracting as Kakuzu broke free of the ground beside him.

"Never underestimate a Konoha Shinobi's rage, especially an Uchiha," Kakuzu said. "We should retreat while we can."

"How?" Hidan aksed. "He'll murder us both before we can get anywhere."

"He doesn't want us," Kakuzu said.

"Zetsu!" Ryuu seethed as Zetsu sat up, torso regenerated.

" **We've been here before, brat,** " Zetsu snarled, raising his arms, holding them out at angles before himself. " **But if it's a game you want, we'll be happy to play**."

The ground in front of Zetsu began to break apart instantly, near-perfect replicas of White Zetsu leaping out of it at Ryuu. He shot forward, tanto in-hand, and began to hack his way through the clones, bits of them flying rapidly as he tore them apart, literally in a couple of cases. Then, he vanished a split second before the ground under him exploded and massive wooden roots exploded up from below. He reappeared beside Sasuke, teeth clenched and tanto trembling in his rage. Then, he shot forward again, slashing his sword and using the wind from it to form a Vacuum Blade before slashing his way through several roots, reaching one of the clones and twisting out of the way of the wooden spike it tried to stab him with. He split the clone down the middle and roots erupted from the ground on all sides, stabbing at him, only for him to flip over them, landing on top of one and exploding off of it with enugh force to shatter the root. He reached the next clone in the blink of an eye, slamming his left palm into it and sending it blasting backward into two more clones before the spot his hand had touched erupted into a massive fireball, consuming all three clones. Two clones leapt at Ryuu from the sides, stabbing at him, but Ryuu spun, his tanto spinning into the air as he caught their wrists, continuing to spin and driving their spikes into each other's faces before flipping the two into the air and hurling them. A root exploded out of the ground at the same moment that he released them but Ryuu pushed off a chunk of stone and shot upward, catching his tanto before flipping and slashing, sending an arc of flame down into the root, obliterating it in the ensuing explosion. Then, Zetsu himself reached Ryuu, Black Zetsu drilling a punch into Ryuu's side, sending him blasting into the ground beside Sasuke.

Ryuu began to stand, but Sasuke set a hand on his shoulder and Ryuu stilled, gritting his teeth and forcing his rage under control again, the rage slowly fading. "Thank you."

"Shall we end this?" Sasuke asked, moving his hand to his sword's hilt.

"Yeah," Ryuu nodded. "Let's make it quick."

Sasuke nodded and shot forward, drawing his sword as roots exploded out of the ground to try to intercept him, only for him to slice through them instantly. Just as he did, a jungle's worth of roots exploded out of the ground around the clones and Zetsu, swarming across the ground and toward Sasuke. Before Sasuke could react, Ryuu flipped into the air over him and exhaled a sea of flames, the flames engulfing the roots, igniting everything and within seconds burning it away to ash. Instantly, Sasuke sped toward one clone, Ryuu streaking through the air to another. Both killed the clone easily, and when more roots moved to attack them, they slashed their way through, taking out the clones in rapid succession now that they had to split their attention. One of Sasuke's targets broke a chunk of root off as Sasuke was focusing on another clone and pulled it back like a javelin, only for Ryuu to curl his fingers into the shape of a gun, a bullet of compressed air firing off of his index finger, punching through the clone's head from the side. At the same time, Sasuke decapitated the clone he was fighting and spun, dropping to one knee and swung a hand, several needles of Lightning Chakra shooting out of his Chidori, stabbing into one of Ryuu's clones, who was about to do the same. The clone collapsed and Ryuu lopped off its head as he passed.

After another moment, and four more dead clones, both began to rapidly close in on Zetsu from either side, Zetsu looking between them several times before raising his arms, crossing them above himself. Then, he roared as he swung his arms back downward. Instantly, the world around them was ripped rent apart, roots ranging from as thick as Ryuu's arm to as thick as he was tall bristling out of the obliterated ground and impaling both Sasuke and Ryuu each a dozen times over, more wooden spikes erupting out of them once they were off the ground. However, after a moment of both hanging motionless, they erupted into twin fireballs, chunks of root turned projectiles flying and bouncing around the newly-formed forest before Ryuu and Sasuke appeared where Zetsu had been, only to find he had escaped.

"Fu!" Ryuu gasped, eyes widening before vanishing.

He sped across the ground rapidly with the Body Flicker Technique, his wings spread wide but keeping him low to minimize the wind such speed would kick up. He bobbed and weaved around anything in his path, finally reaching the area he had left Fu and the other Jinchuriki. He deactivated the Body Flicker Technique instantly, finding Tobi and Zetsu in the middle of a surprisingly fierce battle, both using their Wood Style as well as Taijutsu to try and kill each other. However, as Ryuu arrived, Zetsu hurled Tobi at him and sank into the ground instantly. Ryuu flipped over Tobi and skidded to a stop beside Fu, gently lifting her, feeling for a pulse. She was alive, just unconscious.

"The poison isn't fatal," Tobi said. "It reduces the body's functions until the victim loses consciousness, but leaves them functional enough to keep them alive. She'll wake up after a few minutes of leaving this area."

Ryuu nodded, lifting her as Sasuke landed beside him. "Tobi, find Kakashi. If he hasn't been poisoned yet, warn him to stay away."

Tobi nodded and sank into the ground. Ryuu turned to Sasuke.

"I have to get back," Sasuke said. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Ryuu said. "You too."

Sasuke nodded and left and Ryuu formed a clone to carry the Jinchuriki, both taking off and flying up into the air where the poison wouldn't reach them. Ryuu looked around the battlefield and realized they had really remodeled the landscape. The city had been all but erased, and instead, there were craters, scorch marks, and giant chunks of wood or wood spikes covering everything for a mile. The Land of Lightning would not be pleased.

Ryuu flew to where he could sense Tobi and landed off to the side, Fu stirring as he walked over and cuddling into him more, sighing contentedly, Ryuu chuckling. His clone landed beside him a moment later with the Jinchuriki, who was still unconscious.

"What happened?" Kakashi asked.

"Hidan and Kakuzu were getting help from a poison Zetsu had spread which slowed the body's reactions to the point that it should have rendered us unconscious, though apparently me and Sasuke's Sharingan was able to fight the effects by forcing our brains to work more efficiently. He fought them, but then Zetsu showed up with a bunch of improved clones and allowed Hidan and Kakuzu to escape, again, and we ended up having to deal with Zetsu, only for him to also escape, again. He went after Fu but Tobi held him off until I got there and Zetsu took off."

Kakashi nodded. "What should we do with her?" He looked over at the Jinchuriki and Ryuu shrugged.

"We should take her home," Fu said, finally climbing down from Ryuu's arms. "The Hidden Cloud needs to know their Jinchuriki is safe, but was almost taken."

The others nodded and Ryuu picked up Kakashi as Fu extended her wings, all of them flying toward the Hidden Cloud, Yomo flying along at Ryuu's side as they travelled. Finally, the city came into view and they flew down to the village's hospital, landing at the front door, Tobi remaining hidden, everyone but Ryuu's clone raising their hands in surrender as shinobi began to appear all around them instantly.

"We're not here for trouble," Ryuu said calmly. "We're returning your Jinchuriki. She was attacked by the Akatsuki, but we were able to stop them."

"Who are you?" one of the shinobi, a woman with blonde hair cut just above her shoulders, a black skirt under a low-cut grey shirt, a modified Hidden Cloud flak that rapped around her abdomen and left her enormous breasts, which could rival Tsunade's, unprotected.

"I'm Ryuu Uchiha," Ryuu answered.

"Kakashi Hatake," Kakashi said.

"Fu," Fu introduced herself.

"As I said, we don't want trouble," Ryuu said.

Just then, a man appeared in front of her. He was tall with white blonde hair clicked back, a white mustache and short white beard, a solid metal belt with a demon's face on the front, an excessively overly-defined torso that was uncovered except for his kage robe, which hung open, and a pair of massive gold arm bands taking up his entire forearms. Ryuu and the others knelt, again except for Ryuu's clone.

"Lord Raikage," Ryuu said. "Please excuse our intrusion into your village, but we saved your Jinchuriki from the Akatsuki and were bringing her back to you."

The Raikage remained silent for a long time, studying the three of them. He raised an arm, and one of the shinobi stepped forward, taking the Jinchuriki, checking for a pulse before nodding to the Raikage and, receiving a nod in return, headed into the hospital. "As thanks for saving Yugito, I will allow you to live. But for entering our village without permission, All three of you are under arrest."

Ryuu nodded and held a hand out, to his side, his clone and Yomo both exploding into a pair of smoke clouds. As they did, Ryuu blinked, and when his eyes opened again, the Raikage had him held off the ground by his throat, one fist cocked back. Fu began to react, but Ryuu held out a hand. The Raikage's grip was slack enough that he could breathe, and with that kind of speed, he could have struck, rather than grabbing Ryuu. It was a show of dominance. A show of power.

 _So this is the fastest man currently alive,_ Ryuu thought, his eyes staring into the Raikage's. "Impressive speed."

"Pull a stunt like that again and I end you," the Raikage threatened.

Ryuu smirked, the Raikage's eyes closing in a blink and Ryuu vanished, reappearing behind the Raikage, hands bound in shackles. The Raikage blinked, looking around before turning and staring at Ryuu in disbelief.

"We'll come quietly," Ryuu promised. "However, you'll be hearing from Lady Tsunade within a couple of days."

"So be it," the Raikage nodded. "Samui take them away."

The blonde nodded and Fu and Kakashi were restrained as well, then led away.

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	102. Chapter 102

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Imprisoned

Ryuu sighed as he sat in the prison cell silently, Fu in the cell to his left, and Kakashi to his right. All three bore chakra suppression seals, and the cells were reinforced with half a dozen seals, so Ryuu wasn't breaking out on his own, at least, not without time. Not that it mattered. Tobi could get in or out easily, as he had shortly after they had been locked in the cells. Ryuu had then sent Tobi to get Tsunade and make sure the Akatsuki didn't try anything while she was on the way. Tobi had asked if Ryuu wanted him to tell her what happened, but Ryuu assured him that Yomo would pass along the message via a seal that recorded everything the bird saw and when released turned it into writing on a scroll. Or at least, the short version of it. Instead of a play-by-play of their fight, they would see something closer to "Hidan and Kakuzu had captured a Jinchuriki. Ryuu and Sasuke fought them. Zetsu arrived. Hidan and Kakuzu escaped while Zetsu fought them. Zetsu fled." It had taken Ryuu a while to figure out how to get the seal to work, and had yet to find an actual reason to use it. But, apparently, that time had finally come.

"So, know any good ways to pass the time?" Ryuu finally asked.

"I do, but it's kind of hard to manage from a different cell," Fu said halfheartedly, still disgruntled that the Raikage had refused to let her and Ryuu share a cell, even with extra chakra suppressors.

"That's alright," Ryuu said. "I wouldn't want to risk Kakashi spying anyway."

"I resent that remark," Kakashi said calmly. "If you want, I could lone you one of my books."

"I'll pass on the porn, thanks," Ryuu said. "I'm not that bored yet."

He tilted his head back against the wall and bit his left thumb, wiping some blood on a seal under his left sleeve. A moment later, the seal released a small rubber ball. He smiled. A chakra-free seal was the perfect place to hide the ball for exactly this situation. Of course, he had less innocent items in that seal as well, as well as several others, but the ball was all he wanted right now. He tossed it out through the bars, the ball bouncing off the floor, the wall, and the ceiling before slipping between the bars of Fu's cell. After a moment, it left the cell again repeating its bunces and entering Kakashi's cell. After another moment, Kakashi sent it to Ryuu. And so, they began to play a game of trick pass, getting more and more creative as they continued. After a few hours of this, the door opened and A stepped in, catching the ball just before it could get into Ryuu's cell, crushing it.

"Now that was just rude," Ryuu said.

"Where did you get this ball?" A demanded.

"Prison wallet," Ryuu said.

A growled in rage before slamming a fist into the cell. "What the hell are you all doing here!? Did Tsunade really expect us to not arrest her spies the moment they arrived!?"

"We're not spies," Ryuu said calmly. "We're only here because we were bringing your Jinchuriki back to you, where she's safe. We meant no harm and harbored no ill will."

"Stop lying to me!" A raged.

"I'm not lying," Ryuu said calmly.

A turned, ripping Fu's cell door open and grabbing her by the throat, yanking her out of the cell and slamming her into the wall opposite Ryuu's cell, glaring at Ryuu. "Tell me what you're doing here, now! Tell me or I swear I'll crush her throat!"

Ryuu stood slowly, the room seeming to darken as Ryuu's Sharingan activated, venom, malice, and hatred dripping from his perfectly even voice as he spoke. "Lord Raikage, I am going to say this only once. You are making a terrible mistake right now. If you do not wish to believe that we are here peacefully, that is fine. But if you harm Fu in any way, you will regret it, deeply. Partly because Fu is one of Konoha's Jinchuriki, and harming her will result in all out war. But even before that, and believe me when I warn you not to test me on this, if you hurt Fu, in any way, I will end you in the most painful way you can possibly imagine. I will rip your fingers off and drive them into your eyes, then I will rip you intestines out and shove them into your mouth. I will make you choke to death on your own entrails, and while you lay on the ground, feeling your life slip away, you will watch as I raze this village to the ground and slaughter everyone you hold dear. Now, get your hands off of my girlfriend."

A stared at him, eyes wide with shock and a hint of fear. As Ryuu had been speaking, he had been using Genjutsu to show Raikage visions of exactly what he was saying, having removed his chakra seals the moment A had opened Fu's cell. After a moment, A lowered Fu to the ground, Fu quickly retreating into her cell and closing the door.

"Seal his chakra again," A said. "And if anyone touches that girl, I'm going to punish them personally. We don't need to start a war with Konoha right now, nor do we need a Jinchuriki showdown in our village right now."

The other shinobi nodded, two of them entering Ryuu's cell and placing chakra disruption seals on him again, Ryuu's eyes not leaving A. Finally, A left with the other shinobi and Ryuu knelt in the center of his cell, eyes fixed on the wall across from his cell, senses extended, searching the village. Finally, he found him. Kumogakure's second, and vastly more powerful Jinchuriki. The Eight-tails' Jinchuriki. He was on the far side of the village, but Ryuu could tell he was watching the prison. Escape would be problematic, if it came to that.

"Are you alright Fu?" Ryuu asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," Fu said. "Are you okay? Your Murderous Intent was suffocating for a minute."

"I'm fine," Ryuu said. "I was just giving a show of dominance to repay him for the one he gave when we arrived, as well as ensuring he didn't hurt you."

After a moment a rubber ball like the one A had destroyed bounced out of Fu's cell and into Ryuu's, Ryuu chuckling and catching it, the three of them continuing their game. Finally, after several hours of the game, which eventually had gotten so involved that Ryuu had bounced the ball off of each of Fu's bars once before making it go into Kakashi's cell, all in one go, the door opened and Ryuu caught the ball, spinning it on one finger as A walked over, stopping and staring at the ball with a death glare for several long seconds.

"I hate you," A grumbled, stepping out of the way.

Tsunade stepped into view and Ryuu tossed the ball into the air, standing and catching it, walking over to her.

"Tell me you have some good news," Ryuu said.

"Well, yes and no," Tsunade said. "They've agreed to release Fu, since she's a Jinchuriki, and Kakashi since he's one of my most trusted advisors. You have to stay for a bit longer."

"Until?" Ryuu asked.

"If Yugito wakes up and confirms your story about you saving her, we'll release you," A said.

"She was unconscious," Ryuu said. "At most she'll be able to confirm that she was defeated by the Akatsuki."

"That'll be enough," A said. "If she confirms that she was defeated, and her story about which Akatsuki she fought matches yours, we'll release you. Which brings me to my next question. What can you tell me about the Akatsuki members you fought?"

"One has silver hair slicked back, an pen robe, fights with a red, three-bladed scythe and is literally immortal," Ryuu said. "His name's Hidan. The other is Kakuzu. He's got tanned skin, hardens it to attack with taijutsu, and controls black cords both attached to his body and separately, able to form four puppets with them, each with a mask, and each capable of firing extremely powerful jutsus of each element. He has a mask for Lightning, Fire, Wind, and Water. His main body is what primarily uses Earth Style ninjutsu, like his ability to harden."

"I see," A nodded. "You had better hope Yugito says the same thing."

Ryuu nodded and A nodded to a Kumo shinobi who quickly released Kakashi and Fu. Fu walked over to Ryuu and leaned against the bars, resting her head against his.

"I'll see you soon," Fu said.

"Be careful," Ryuu said. "Keep an eye out for Danzo or his goons, tell Tobi that he's under standing orders to protect you from Zetsu, don't let anyone take over Konoha while we're away."

"I promise not to let Naruto and Hinata get together until you get back either," Fu said. "I know you want to be there to mess with Naruto whenever he finally smartens up."

Ryuu smiled and kissed her. "You know me so well."

"Enough already," A snarled. "Time to go."

Ryuu glared at him for a moment before kissing Fu again before sighing. "I'll be home soon. I promise."

"You'd better," Fu said, stepping away from the bars.

Then, she and the others walked out and Ryuu sat down, beginning to bounce the ball for himself, only to find that it simply served to remind him that he was alone now. He sighed, spinning the ball on one finger again for a while before setting it down and leaning his head back against the wall. He began to drift in and out of sleep, never for long, he didn't think, but enough that time began to pass quickly. By the time A showed up again, he was pretty sure it had been a couple of days.

"Wake up!" A snapped, opening the cell. "Yugito wants to speak with you."

Ryuu nodded and stood, dusting himself off and stepping out of the cell, one of the shinobi putting him in a pair of shackles attached to a metal belt, keeping his arms straight and at an uncomfortable angle behind himself. Then, they walked him through the prison to the outside, Ryuu seeing it was dark. They led him to the hospital and through it to a room where the Jinchuriki, Yugito, was lying in a bed, hair hanging loose behind her and a cold expression on her face as Ryuu walked into the room.

"Why is he in restraints?" Yugito asked.

"I don't trust him," A said. "He's dangerous, and he's to strong to allow him to roam around free."

Yugito sighed. "As you wish, Lord Raikage. With your permission, I'd like to speak with him alone."

A nodded after a moment and left, closing the door behind himself. Yugito gestured Ryuu over and he walked over, Yugito having him turn around before he felt his cuffs click open. He looked back and saw her right index fingernail had grown into a claw, though it was retracting.

"The Two-tailed Monster Cat, Matatabi," Ryuu said, bowing. "It's an honor to meet you. And it's a pleasure to meet you as well, Yugito. Properly, at least."

"You're Ryuu," Yugito said, sounding as though she was appraising him. "You're not quite what I was expecting. When that girl told me you had saved me from those two freaks, and that you were fighting them, I was expecting someone..."

"Older?" Ryuu asked. "Bigger? More impressive."

"Maybe not more impressive," Yugito said. "Out of anyone, a Jinchuriki understands that you can't judge a person on appearances. But, yeah, older. I thank you for saving my life, but I hope you'll forgive me for saying that you're not like anyone else I know. Even in Kumogakure, where us Jinchuriki are respected and welcomed, I don't know that there's anyone that would call meeting one an honor. Especially not if the honor is because of the Tailed Beast."

"Well, as you said, I'm not like other people," Ryuu said. "I'm dating the Seven-tails Jinchuriki."

Yugito's mouth actually fell open at that. "You're...the green-haired girl?"

"Yeah," Ryuu nodded. "Fu."

Yugito nodded, smiling. "I'm glad she was able to meet someone like you. Even here, the thought of being involved with a Jinchuriki is a foreign and frowned upon concept. We're not supposed to be close with anyone that way. We're weapons of the village."

"I'm sensing that you didn't follow that rule well," Ryuu said.

"No," Yugito smiled. "There's someone. Killer B. He's the only person to have ever truly accepted me."

"Good for you," Ryuu said. "Assuming he feels the same, I'm glad I could bring you back to him."

"He does," Yugito smiled. "A would punish us both severely if he knew, but we don't care. B will want to thank you in person after he finally finds out what happened. You should expect him to show up at your village."

"Good to know," Ryuu nodded. "Do you know if A is going to release me?"

"I told him about the two Jinchuriki I fought," Yugito said. "He didn't seem pleased, but I assume that's because my description matched your own."

"One with a scythe, one with black cords?" Ryuu asked. "Both seemingly immortal?"

"That's the one," Yugito nodded. "A is nothing if not honorable. He'll release you. And whether he wants to show it or not, he really _is_ grateful to you for saving me. He's a bit rough, but he's a good man over all. He truly cares about his village and everyone in it, even us Jinchuriki."

Ryuu nodded. "Make sure to warn the other Jinchuriki to be careful. The two you fought were a couple of the trickiest to keep down, but they were far from the most dangerous. More powerful ones will be sent to succeed where the last failed. If you'll allow it, I can give you all my accumulated knowledge of the Akatsuki and all my memories of fighting them."

"How?" Yugito asked.

Ryuu deactivated the chakra disrupters and activated his Sharingan. Yugito's eyebrow rose but she nodded. He nodded as well and used a genjutsu to transfer the memories, making sure to keep anything overly personal out of them. As he finished, Yugito was staring at his arm.

"You payed a heavy price for that knowledge," Yugito said quietly, borderline reverently.

"I payed a heavy price for Fu," Ryuu said. "I'd give up everything for her."

Yugito nodded. "And this Tobi..."

"He's trust-worthy," Ryuu said. "He defended you when Zetsu came after you."

Yugito nodded. "Do you mind?"

Ryuu hesitated, wincing, but held out his hand, Yugito running her fingers over his palm for a moment, staring at his hand.

"It's smoother than I was expecting," Yugito said. "I was expecting something like elephant skin, or an eraser."

Ryuu pulled his hand back, resisting the urge to cover it with his other hand. "I should get going."

Yugito nodded and Ryuu turned, allowing her to restrain his arms again. Then, she pressed her call button and A walked in, leading Ryuu to the edge of the village and removing the restraints.

"I assume you can find your way back on your own," A growled.

"Thank you for keeping your word, and for not harming Fu," Ryuu said. "Hopefully if we ever meet again, it's under better circumstances."

A nodded and Ryuu turned, extending his wings and glancing behind him, seeing A staring at them in surprise, and the shinobi behind him in a mixture of awe and wonderment. Then, he grinned and took off, speeding away from the village and back toward his own.

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	103. Chapter 103

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Visitor

Ryuu landed behind his house and before his wings had even faded fully, Fu had thrown her arms around him. He smiled, hugging her back before pulling back, heading inside and getting a set of clean clothes before showering and changing. He walked down to the basement and found Yugao training Tayuya in kenjutsu. Both stopped when they saw him, welcoming him home as enthusiastically as Fu had, before they all headed upstairs to get some lunch. As they ate, They took turns talking about what they had been doing recently, as they usually did. Ryuu kept his description of the fight against Tobi downplayed, knowing Yugao, ever the mother-figure, would worry if he didn't. After they had eaten, Fu and Ryuu left to find Naruto, finding him working on the Flying Swallow technique under Asuma's guidance. Except, there was someone else present, a boy Naruto's age wearing a Fire Temple monk robe with shoulder-length dark blue hair, his right sleeve longer than his arm, and an eternal scowl on his face.

"Who's he?" Ryuu asked, glancing at Fu and seeing her staring at him in confusion.

"He's a Jinchuriki," Fu said quietly. "Except...Chomei must be getting senile. He says he senses the Nine-tails' chakra from him."

"Maybe it's because Naruto's right there?" Ryuu more asked than suggested, Fu shrugging.

They landed behind Naruto and the other boy. Asuma smiled over at them and Ryuu walked over to him.

"Who's he?" Ryuu asked.

"Ryuu, this is Sora," Asuma said. "He's from the Fire Temple, and he's the son of one of my fellow Twelve Guardian Shinobi."

"Isn't that the group that used to defend the Feudal Lord?" Ryuu asked.

"That's the one," Asuma nodded. "I was just helping them with the Flying Swallow technique."

Ryuu watched as both trainees hurled their kunai, both sticking in about half a blade in length. "You're not focusing on making the chakra sharp, you're just focusing on getting it into place."

"And just who the hell are you?" Sora demanded. "What the hell do you know about the Flying Swallow technique?"

"Not much," Ryuu shrugged, pulling a kunai out of his pouch and effortlessly streaming his chakra along it, sending it punching through the tree and a boulder behind it.

Both stared after the knife as Ryuu attached a chakra threat to it and pulled it back to himself.

"I was training Naruto in Wind Style Chakra before I had to leave the village," Ryuu said. "Speaking of which, how is your training going, Naruto?"

"I got the hang of a Vacuum Blade and Pressure Damage, but I can't get the others," Naruto said.

"I'm not surprised," Ryuu said. "Pressure Damage is mostly just as much Wind Style chakra as you can make. The rest are more chakra control than anything. What about you, Sora? Any good Wind Style jutsus?"

"A couple," Sora said, staring at Naruto before grinning. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

Ryuu grinned. "Careful who you challenge. I'm not a wimp like Naruto."

"Hey!" Naruto complained.

"I can handle it," Sora said.

"If you say so," Ryuu shrugged. "I'll let you start."

"Beast Wave Palm!" Sora shouted, swiping a hand, an arc of blue Wind Style Chakra shooting out of his right sleeve at Ryuu, who flipped backward, the jutsu slicing through the ground.

"Impressive," Ryuu said. "Not bad at all. Wind Scythe Jutsu!"

He swiped his own hand and an arc of highly-compressed Wind Style Chakra blasted into the ground at Sora's feet, though it was more impact than cutting, unlike Sora's jutsu.

"Weak," Sora said.

"Alright," Ryuu chuckled. "Then how about this one. Air Bullets!" He exhaled a barrage of them, sending them blasting into the ground around Sora, pock-marking it with shallow craters.

"Better," Sora said. "Still not worth my best jutsu."

"Well, my best for your best then," Ryuu said.

Sora grinned, holding out his hand. "Beast Wave Gale Palm!"

A massive blast of Wind Style chakra shot out of his sleeve, forming into a massive demonic hand the size of Ryuu's entire body and streaked across the ground at him. Ryuu vanished, reappearing off to the side, avoiding the attack and nodding appreciatively.

"I like it," Ryuu said. "Very effective. My turn. Wind Style, Wind Dragon Jutsu."

The dragon exploded along the ground, forming from the air around Ryuu this time, rather than him exhaling it, and grabbed a tree as it rose, shattering the tree before allowing the part it had bitten off to pass through it, shredding it as it did. Then, it dropped the remains before flipping over and shooting back downward, exploding as it hit the pile of wood chunks, blowing them into sawdust. Sora stared at the cloud of sawdust, mouth hanging open in shock, and Ryuu chuckled.

"Victory," Ryuu said. "Here's a consolation demonstration. It's actually one I haven't gotten to test out yet. Wind Style, Gale Armor."

Wind Style chakra exploded to life around his entire body, the chakra over his head forming into a sort of dome, rather than a silhouette. The chakra raged around his body in a violent, noisy, and extremely dense silhouette of chakra forming a tornado of sorts around each arm and leg, then around his torso. He felt light while it was active, and was guessing he'd be faster. The last time he had used it, he had dropped a tree on himself and the armor had obliterated the tree before it could reach him. The down side was, in order to have the chakra protect his head, he had to use his Sharingan to see through it.

"Amazing!" Fu breathed. "Why haven't you used it yet?"

Ryuu released the armor and shrugged. "Haven't really had a need for it. Anyway, back to your training. Naruto'll get ahead of you if you stop now."

As if on cue, Naruto had some success and buried the kunai up to its ring, cheering before realizing it was stuck. Ryuu retrieved it for him with a chakra thread and Sora hurriedly went back to training, Naruto finding that he was incapable of replicating his success. Ryuu chuckled and began to practice copying Sora's jutsus without his Sharingan. Beast Wave Palm he picked up easily. He knew a couple of jutsus that were similar, though the chakra-to-wind-chakra ratio was different. Beast Wave Gale Palm was a different beast altogether. Fu began to train as well, and as usual, had figured it out within an hour.

"Have I ever mentioned how completely unfair it is that you not only have three chakra natures, but you also pick up the jutsus as quickly as if you had Sharingan?" Ryuu complained after having produced a particularly apathetic puff of air rather than a chakra demon hand.

"You might have mentioned it a couple of times," Fu smiled, forming a ball of Wind Chakra and tossing it back and forth from her hands. "Helps when you find creative ways to practice your chakra control. Like this."

She tossed him the ball and he caught it, only for it to disperse instantly.

"No fair," Ryuu grumbled. "You've never taught me to do that before. I've never even seen you doing it."

"I don't show you everything you know," Fu smirked.

Ryuu huffed, returning to training, slowly growing closer and closer to succeeding, though still failing to actually produce the jutsu. After a few more hours of practice, Ryuu finally gave up. He and Fu said their goodbyes to the others and headed home for the night. It was still early, but both were tired from training, and dealing with the Akatsuki, so they ate a quick dinner before heading to bed. Ryuu stared out the window as he lay in bed. Something felt off. He couldn't place his finger on it, but something was definitely not sitting right with him. Fu seemed to feel the same, because after a while, she sat up, straddling him in the process, but stared out the window, brow furrowing in a look of deep contemplation.

"Something's not right," Fu said.

"I agree," Ryuu said. "I can't tell what, but something's just...off."

Fu nodded, climbing off of him. Without a word, both pulled on their tantos and kunai pouches, then their ninja tool pouches and left the house, Ryuu tying on his headband as they walked away from the house. They walked in silence, looking around as they traveled. It had gotten dark, but not so late that the streets should be completely deserted as they were. It felt...off. It felt like there was a charge to the air. Like the entire village had the same foreboding feeling and had cleared the streets in response. The air felt heavy and Ryuu's skin was crawling, the hairs on the back of his neck doing crunches as it stood on end and fell, then stood on end again in an endless cycle.

Suddenly, the lights went out, the entire village going dark. Ryuu stopped, hands remaining at his side but tense and ready to grab a weapon. The tiny, usually unnoticeable hum of electricity being absent, the village was suddenly oppressively silent. He began to turn slowly, scanning the village around them, but he could see nothing. They began to head for the main gate, neither saying a word as they walked. By the time they had gone three blocks, Ryuu was pretty sure he would have been happy for Zetsu or Danzo to show up and attack them, just so that the feeling of foreboding trying to suffocate him would go away. Above them, the Jonin of the village headed for Tsunade's office to get a report, but Ryuu ignored them. If he was needed, he'd be summoned. He glanced up, seeing shinobi on the rooftops flashing each other with flashlights, signaling they were in place in case they needed to signal orders in the event of an attack. Ryuu remained silent, and Fu didn't seem to notice the shinobi. She hadn't been in the village during an attack, so he supposed she wouldn't know to check that the shinobi were in place. He heard the telltale collision of the main gate closing.

Fu glanced at him and he nodded. The gate wouldn't be closed, even during a power outage, unless there was a high chance for an attack. At least they weren't the only ones feeling like something was off. Just then, Sakura landed beside them.

"What happened?" Ryuu asked.

"Sora attacked Lady Tsunade," Sakura said. "Naruto went after him, I think."

Ryuu nodded and continued walking. Sakura blinked, watching after him, then turned to Fu, but she had continued as well, both still looking around in silence.

"Aren't you going to try to help Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Naruto can handle himself," Ryuu said. "The village is on alert. We have jobs to do."

Sakura was silent for a moment before nodding and leaving. Ryuu took two more steps before Yuga landed beside them.

"Level two or three?" Ryuu asked.

"Two," Yugao said. "Tsunade said told me to tell you to pick a job."

"I'll head to the main gate," Ryuu said. "Send Tayuya. And Yugao, I don't think this is what it seems. Something's...off."

"You think it's them?" Yugao asked.

Ryu was silent for a long moment. "I don't like it."

Yugao nodded and left. Ryuu and Fu turned, heading for the main gate, walking faster, but still not rushing. Ryuu couldn't shake the feeling he was missing something, and that there was more danger than there should be, even if Sora _was_ a would-be assassin. Just as they stepped onto a street that headed straight toward the main gate, it began.

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	104. Chapter 104

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Friendly Faces

"You think it's them?" Yugao asked.

Ryu was silent for a long moment. "I don't like it."

Yugao nodded and left. Ryuu and Fu turned, heading for the main gate, walking faster, but still not rushing. Ryuu couldn't shake the feeling he was missing something, and that there was more danger than there should be, even if Sora _was_ a would-be assassin. Just as they stepped onto a street that headed straight toward the main gate, it began. There was a loud collision from outside the village and a signal passed through the shinobi instantly. Attack. And yet, something felt off still. The security force went to engage the attackers, but as the sounds of battle continued, the security force clearly could do nothing to stop them. Finally, Ryuu and Fu reached the gate, flying up to the top and landed on either side of Genma, Ryuu standing to his left, and Fu crouching on the right, watching four people approach through the bars of the railing. They weren't Akatsuki. They wore cape cloaks, and had wide, flat, circular hats tipped forward to hide their faces, rather than the Akatsuki's sugegasas.

"Who are they?" Ryuu asked.

"I don't know," Genma said. "But they've been obliterating us."

Ryuu watched as one of the shinobi set a foot down as several kunai sped toward him and a wall of stone shot up, blocking them. The next step, the ground was suddenly a massive chasm, the stone wall falling in, along with a dozen Konoha shinobi. Then, the man's next step, the ground slammed closed.

"Kekkei Genkai?" Ryuu mused. "No. Something else. Pull the security force back. They can't handle this threat."

"Right," Genma nodded, signaling the shinobi.

Other Chunin and above landed on top of the gate with them and they all waited in silence as the shinobi reached the gate and stopped, one woman unrolling a scroll, beginning to form hand seals. On the scroll, Ryuu could see a topographical map, one that he recognized as Konoha.

"Barrier Defense Shield Jutsu, Eight Gate Lockup!" the woman shouted, slamming her hands into the scroll.

Instantly, four massive temple-like structures rose around the village, one for each cardinal direction, the southern one rising directly in front of the Main Gate.

"What is that?" Kotetsu asked.

"It's a seal to keep up in," Ryuu said, Sharingan staring at it. "We're trapped inside our own village, but those four will be able to travel in and out of the barrier freely."

As soon as all four structures were done rising, the barrier formed, a multicolored dome appearing around the village, the colors shifting constantly. Ryuu picked up a stone and hurled it through the barrier, the stone igniting and burning away to ash as it passed through.

"Inform Lady Tsunade that we're trapped," Ryuu said. "And tell her that I'm at the Main Gate."

A shinobi nearby with a flashlight passed the message just as a blinding light began to shine from just inside the gate.

"We are four individuals made one by the common resolve to pursue the cause of the Land of Fire," a voice spoke from the light. "It is this indominable resolve that has brought us here. Lend us your ears for but a brief moment, for there is not much to say. We have only one purpose. The greater glory of the Land of Fire with the Feudal Lord supreme." Suddenly, the four invaders appeared inside the gate, a seal tag in one of the four's hand burning away. "The existence of the Hokage and this village poses a lasting threat to the supremacy of the Land of Fire's Feudal Lord! There can only be one true king. Don't you understand!? There is no longer any reason for this Hokage of yours to exist!"

Ryuu glanced at Fu, the two being the only two still on tp of the wall, and she nodded, both dropping off of the wall and falling toward the four invaders. However, just shy of them meeting them, a massive wall of stone shot out of the ground at them. Ryuu's Gale Armor roared to life just in time to obliterate the rock, but the impact sent him crashing into Fu, both flying to the semicircle of Shinobi around the invaders. Both flipped and landed on either side of Genma again, Ryuu letting his armor fade, as the man who had been speaking continued.

"We didn't expect your approval," the man said. "Nevertheless, you _will_ help us achieve our purpose. Even when you're no longer alive!"

"You have a reanimation jutsu, then," Ryuu said. "I've seen a few of those. One requires a sacrifice, one requires an incredible amount of chakra to sustain, the most terrifying one of all was a Kekkei Genkai wielded by a friend of mine. So, which do you have?"

The man that was apparently the leader grinned wickedly. "Fudo!"

"Yeah," the big guy with the Earth Style jutsu said, stepping forward. Then, he jumped, forming hand seals rapidly. "Earth Style, Impermanence!"

Ryuu grit his teeth. He'd heard about Impermanence. It was a pain in the ass. The ground in front of the man began to break apart and rise, the ground an odd purplish color with what Ryuu could swear were pipes sticking out. And it was spreading toward them rapidly.

"Get back!" Genma shouted, everyone retreating, Fu and Ryuu both doing the same.

The debris spread to cover hundreds of meters before stopping. However, as Ryuu landed behind the first line, he watched as pale hands broke out of the ground, grabbing the shinobi's legs. They were pale, almost blue, and looked like they might be rotting. And then, there were corpses breaking out of the debris, all of them Konoha shinobi, though not only the ones they had killed on the way in.

"Earth Style, Ultimate Revival Jutsu!" The leader said. "Soil Bodies! Rise fallen Shinobi! Rise and live again!"

"So it's that one, huh?" Ryuu mused. "Could be worse."

The leader began to laugh as Ryuu walked forward, push-kicking a corpse that was getting close to one of the other shinobi and sending it crashing along the ground. "Our army of fallen shinobi! That's the enemy you face!"

"Genma, keep everyone back," Ryuu said, forming a dozen clones. "I'll deal with this while Shikamaru comes up with a plan. Fu, you hang back too."

Fu and Genma nodded.

"Eyes open Ryuu," Fu said.

"You too," Ryuu said. "There's something else going on."

Then, Ryuu turned back to the front and he and his clones began to calmly walk forward, drawing their tantos and beginning to tear into the corpses. It was...disappointing. The corpses were slow, and even relatively minor wounds resulted in them bursting into thin dust clouds that had faded into oblivion before they even hit the ground. Ryuu stopped, calmly watching as his clones calmly and easily pushed the undead back. Even with such a small number of clones, the corpses were slaughtered quickly. None were able to get close to one of the Ryuus without being destroyed. They were simply too weak.

Ryuu's eyes rose to the four standing on top of a massive debris pile, all four watching him in silence. Ryuu started to head toward them, carving his way through the undead as he walked.

"You're rather useful," the leader of the group said. "What's your name?"

"Ryuu Uchiha," Ryuu said calmly. "And you're not welcome here."

He vanished just as an undead swung its arms downward at him, then reappeared behind the leader, slashing at him with his tanto, only for the leader to spin, a black khakkhara with a gold tip blocking Ryuu's blade.

"You're fast," the leader said. "You're going to be trouble."

"More than you can handle," Ryuu growled. "I don't know what your plan is, but if you die, it ends. So I'm going to end you here and now."

"I wish you luck," the man said, shoving with the khakkhara, only for it to suddenly pass through Ryuu as he flickered.

Then, Ryuu slashed downward. The man leapt away, but Ryuu's blade tore the front of his shirt open all the same. He swore loudly, the other three moving to stop Ryuu, only for three more Ryuus to step out of the first, drilling a punch into their faces, sending them blasting through the undead. One of each Ryuu walked after the others.

"What the hell is this!?" the leader demanded. "Some kind of genjutsu?"

"Oh I'm very real," Ryuu said. "And I'm going to kill all four of you here and now."

"Scatter!" the leader shouted.

However, when the four of them turned to leave, they found four more Ryuus waiting. All four slammed a palm strike into their chosen targets, a dozen paralysis seals instantly racing over the four intruders' body before several layers of chakra suppression seals joined them. Then, Ryuu ended the Body Flicker Technique, allowing the four to collapse to the ground. All at once, the debris covering the village faded, along with the corpses, and the bursts of lightning that had been going off in the streets around the power station ended.

"You did it!" Tayuya shouted, staring in wide-eyed wonder. "Awesome!"

"It's not over," Fu said. "There's something else."

"What?" Kiba asked.

"Where's Sora?" Ryuu asked.

"We don't know," Lee said. "Is he in danger?"

"He..." Ryuu trailed off, turning slowly toward the main gate, the others all staring past him.

There, framed by the now wide-open gate, stood Max and Lena. Both of their bodies had cracks spreading over their skin and their skin was pale, but they were both there, both watching him in silence. He sank to his knees, feeling the fight drain out of him as tears welled up in his eyes and fell, old memories that he thought he had laid to rest flooding him, making him feel like he was drowning. His Sharingan watched as both began to walk forward, tears rolling down their faces as well as grief shone from their eyes, but their faces remained emotionless.

"Who?" Ryuu managed to choke out.

"Orochimaru," Max said. "His spies sent him word about this group's plot and saw it as the perfect opportunity to get you back. I'm sorry Ryuu. I can't hold back this time."

"Please stop us," Lena said, voice broken as though she were sobbing, despite the fact that her face was as emotionless as ever. "Please Ryuu. Please set us free."

"I...I can't!" Ryuu sobbed. "I can't kill you again! I can't!"

"You won't," Lena said. "We're already dead. We're just puppets now. You can't hurt us. Please, we just want to be able to move on."

"I can't lose you two again!" Ryuu sobbed. "Please don't make me kill you!"

"You don't have to," Fu's voice said softly as she stepped in front of Ryuu. "I'll do it."

"No!" Ryuu said, eyes wide with horror. "You can't! You can't beat him!"

"Don't worry about it," Kiba said as he stepped up beside Fu, all of Ryuu's other friends doing the same. "You don't have to do this. We'll handle it."

"You don't have to hurt anymore," Tayuya smiled. "Let us help you. Let us take the pain away."

Ryuu stared at them as they all turned toward Lena and Max, who were actually smiling now.

"You have friends," Max smiled. "I'm so glad."

"We were so afraid you wouldn't be able to forgive yourself," Lena smiled. "We were afraid you wouldn't be able to move past us."

"I'm sorry for what we're about to do to your friends," Max said, tears beginning to fall down Lena's face all over again. "Please forgive us. And please find the strength to move past this again."

He raised his hand and Ryuu felt his entire body begin to vibrate. Then, his body was off like a shot, reacting entirely on autopilot. One Ryuu appeared in front of Max, shoving his arm upward as another Ryuu tackled the entire line of his friends to the ground. Then, a massive blast of pure light exploded from Max's hand, taking off that Ryuu's head as it shot skyward before exploding in the middle of a cloud, the concussion clearing miles of the sky and kicking up a cloud of dust around them.

Everyone stared at the Ryuu at Max's feet as blood poured out of its neck for several long seconds before it faded, turning transparent and disappearing in under a second. Ryuu stood in front of his friends, hand pressed against his throat. He had felt that. That had been him. He hadn't used a clone. It had been his Body Flicker Technique. And yet, even though one of his two after-image clones, what should have been _him_ , had their heads taken off, he was completely unscathed. And he had felt it. He had felt his head being erased by Max's jutsu. And yet, he was fine.

"What...how did you do that?" Fu asked. "You were in two places at once! You were _literally_ in two places at once!"

"I don't know," Ryuu said. "Now leave."

"What?" Fu asked, brow furrowing.

"You can't fight them," Ryuu said. "None of you can. They're too strong. He can control any kind of energy, literally, to create attacks and weapons. Kinetic force, chakra, light, sound, even _potential_ energy. And she can reanimate corpses to fight for her."

"Then let us help you," Kiba said. "You can't beat them both. Especially if you don't have it in you to kill them."

Ryuu stared at the ground in silence for a long while before inhaling slowly. "I have to do this. I have to be the one to beat them. Because it was my fault they died."

The others all looked around at each other unsurely.

"Go and help Naruto," Ryuu said. "He'll need you. I don't know for what, but he'll need you."

After another few moments of hesitation, the others all began to leave until only Fu and Tayuya remained.

"I'm not leaving you," Fu said. "Don't even try to argue it."

Ryuu sighed and nodded, then drew his tanto, handing it to Fu, along with his trench knife. Then, he held his hand out to the side, forming a Wind Rapier. Max held his hand out a little from his side and pure white light began to condense into it, spreading outward into the same double-edged light blade he had used when they fought before. Then, both shot forward. Ryuu pushed his Sharingan, shifting it into Mangekyo and twisted out of the way of Max's blade as he slashed at him. Sure enough, as before, Max's blade sliced through Ryuu's with ease, barely missing Ryuu. Then, Ryuu twisted, hardening his left fist and adding a repulsion seal, drilling it into Max's side. Max rocketed away from Ryuu instantly, exploding up through the top of the Main Gate, sending it flying skyward as a massive cloud of debris. Then, as Ryuu landed and turned to Lena, he bent backward, lying horizontal to the ground and bending his knees to get even lower, a pair of bone blades flashing over his head. He leapt backward as the skeleton standing between him and Lena began to grow spikes from every bone in its body.

"Kimimaro," Ryuu growled. "So Orochimaru found it after all."

He shot forward, forming a Wind Rapier and deflecting one of Kimimaro's blades, slipping past him and slashing at Lena, only to be yanked back at the last second, Kimimaro's finger bones all spiked along the insides, shredding his ankle and lower calf muscles. Then, Kimimaro turned, hurling Ryuu away from the village. Just as Ryuu bounced off the ground once, Max appeared in front of him, a blast of electricity hitting him in the chest, launching him backward even faster, sending him exploding through multiple trees. Ryuu flipped, slamming his feet into the ground and skidded to a stop, glancing down at his leg as it finished mending itself.

"This is going to be trouble after all," Ryuu sighed. "Not that that should surprise me."

He vanished just as all of the trees around him exploded, bits of wood flashing through the small clearing he had ended up in, lightning bolts following. A moment later, Max slowed to a stop in the air over it, lightning flashing out of his shoulder blades, arcing to the ground like massive, shifting spider legs. Ryuu appeared in front of him, wings extended and a Wind Rapier in each hand, paralysis seals streaming constantly through the blades.

"I remember teaching you those wings," Max said, smiling. "They're so beautiful."

"Yes they are," Ryuu said. "I always thought my wings would be a symbol of my freedom, but they're not. They're you two. They're our friendship."

Max's smile grew, even as he exploded forward, forming a pair of blades and beginning to slash at Ryuu rapidly. Ryuu grit his teeth, dodging and weaving around and away from the blades, slashing back when he could, but Max simply cut through the blades. Max slashed horizontally at Ryuu and Ryuu flipped over it, kicking downward at Max. Max spun out of the way, beginning to rise, only for Ryuu to flip, slashing downward at Max with his left hand, then around at him with his right, throwing a kick from the opposite side, a repulsion seal on his feet. Max shot backward, swiping a hand and sending his blade flashing at Ryuu as a disk. A second Ryuu appeared off to the side, just in time for the first to take the hit, a spray of blood shooting out of his back before that Ryuu faded, the first wincing and glancing down at the rip in his shirt, though he had no injury. Ryuu shook his head, exploding forward instantly. Max formed a sword from lightning and when Ryuu's blade hit his, a blade of transparent energy, looking more like a distortion of heat waves, formed in Max's other hand. Instantly, Ryuu's Gale Armor exploded into existence just in time to take the hit. A sound like an explosion went off and Ryuu exploded down into the ground, plowing through it for a hundred yards before flipping out of the trench and instantly being clotheslined by Kimimaro's skeleton. He shoved himself backward along the ground just as Kimimaro drove a bone blade down into the ground, then stood, spinning and swiping a hand, sending a Beast Wave Palm through a tree behind him. Instantly, Kimimaro fell away and when the tree fell, Lena staggered forward, catching herself on the tree and smiling as her body began to fall apart at the split, transforming into paper and ash. However, before it had even spread much, the falling paper and ash rolled back on itself, reforming her body in a wave, leaving her whole and uninjured. Ryuu's eyes widened as the full gravity of his situation began to set in. He was fucked.

"I'm sorry Ryuu," Lena said, holding out her hand. "You can't win this time."

Bones began to fly past her, reforming into Kimimaro's skeleton, adorning her body like a suit of armor, the skull enlarged to fit around her head. Before she could do anything, however, Ryuu launched himself to the side, Max hitting the ground with the full force of his kinetic energy and former potential energy, instantly sending up a dust cloud and sending Ryuu exploding along the ground to the Main Gate again. He flipped, extending his wings and stopping himself just shy of the gate, watching the trees in silence.

"Ryuu!" Fu shouted.

"Stay back!" Ryuu snapped. "They can't die! They just reform!"

"It's known as the Impure World Reincarnation," Kabuto said, stepping out of a side street. "Their bodies will endlessly regenerate. The only countermeasure is to seal them, or to force the jutsu caster to end the jutsu. Even killing Orochimaru would simply make it permanent."

"Dammit!" Ryuu snarled. "I don't have any seals that strong!"

"You'd better think of something," Kabuto said, eyeing the mushroom cloud in the distance.

Ryuu nodded just as a massive beam of pure heat erupted out of the trees at him, Ryuu instinctively exhaling a Pressure Damage, barely fending off the blast. Then, he swung his arms forward, his wings flapping once and sending chakra feathers streaking into the trees, explosions beginning to go off rapidly, trees being blown apart. Then, Max stepped out of the explosions, which wrapped around a space a few inches off his body before curling back together behind him. He held his hand out to the side, the explosions, which had yet to actually end, any of them, forming into a sphere a few inches from his palm as a dozen of the unexploded feathers floating into the air around him. Ryuu swallowed hard, allowing his wings to fade and holding his hands at his sides, a pair of spheres of Wind Chakra forming in each. Then, as Max swung his hand forward, the sphere of flames launching itself at Ryuu, Ryuu swung his arms forward, the spheres connecting and exploding into a massive tornado of razor-sharp wind, blowing out the flames only for the feathers to explode against it, igniting the Wind Chakra and allowing Max to take control of it. He swung his hand around his body, the flames following, only for Ryuu to appear in front of him. Except, Max had moved as well. Max now had a light blade through Ryuu's abdomen, and Ryuu had a fist embedded in Max's.

"Ryuu!" Fu shrieked, sprinting forward.

Ryuu staggered backward, the light blade fading as dozens of chakra suppression seals spread from the hole in Max's abdomen, only for Max to hold his hand out, pure chakra flowing out of the seals to his palm, the seals falling away as ink. Then, the chakra in Max's hand transformed into a blade. Ryuu fell to his knees as Fu reached him, only for Lena to appear, punting Fu in the face and sending her crashing into the wall.

"Fu!" Ryuu shouted, appearing beside her, his abdomen finishing sealing.

"I'm okay," Fu promised, standing and wiping a trickle of blood from her lip. "You can't fight them both, but she's not that strong."

"She's resisting," Ryuu said. "She's holding herself back."

"I'll fight her," Fu said. "Be careful with him."

"I will," Ryuu nodded.

Fu stood and blood red chakra, too thick to see through, erupted over her entire body, six wings made from the same chakra spreading from her back before she took off, slamming a punch into Lena's crossed forearms instantly, sending her exploding backward, then chasing her. Ryuu turned to Max again as Max gripped his chakra sword with both hands, the chakra transforming into a pair of glowing spheres around his fists. Ryuu formed his Gale Armor, compressing it around his hands and feet, then took off, his fist exploding into Max's, the ground below them cratering before Ryuu's foot swung around, crashing into a kinetic energy shroud that was encasing Max's own foot, the ground cratering again. They began to trade blows, Ryuu extending his wings as they hovered there, their blows growing faster and faster. Except, the faster they moved, the stronger Max grew. Finally, as his foot met Ryuu's for the hundredth time, there was an explosion of raw force and Ryuu shot backward, Max rocketing after him.

* * *

Lena crashed to the ground and flipped, skidding to a stop before ducking out of the way of Fu's fist, stabbing at her with a bone spike on her right hand. Fu twisted out of the way and a third arm erupted from the chakra covering her face, slamming its fist into Lena's head, sending her bouncing backward, the skull protecting her head cracked. Lena grew spikes from her feet, stabbing them into the ground and stopping herself before swiping her arms, bone spikes firing from her skeleton, drilling through Fu, only for the chakra to be sucked into a crack in the ground. Then, a fist exploded out of the ground below Lena, crashing into the underside of Lena's jaw and launching her backward again, the skull shattering. Lena bounced once before Fu's arm extended, swinging around at Lena from the side like a whip. Lena flipped, forming a massive blade from her left arm, slashing the arm before it could reach her, severing it. However, just as she landed, the severed hand exploded, sending her crashing along the ground again. Fu streaked around, getting into her path, her left fist expanding to the side of Lena's body, only for Lena to flip, a massive bone shield forming almost instantly, blocking the fist.

Lena skidded backward and Fu lunged, punching at Lena again. However, Lena deflected the punch off of her shield, twisting and driving a bone spike through Fu's left shoulder, barely missing her heart. Fu's arm exploded into the ground, launching her backward off of the spike. Within seconds, the Tailed Beast Chakra had healed her wound and then sealed, but Fu didn't charge again. Instead, she opened her mouth, a sphere of pure chakra shooting out of her mouth, exploding into Lena's shield and shattering it. Lena exploded through a tree before flipping, swinging her arms and sending finger bones streaking through the air, the bones slamming into Fu's chakra but failing to break through, instead throwing Fu backward into a tree, cratering it. The moment Fu had stopped flying through the air, a red-tinted Pressure Damage exploded out of her mouth, the tree she was against cratering further as the force of the jutsu shoved Fu backward. Lena slammed her hands together, a massive shield forming, only to be blown apart. Pieces of Lena's skeleton flew in every direction and pieces of Lena fell around the ground. However, after a moment, her body reformed and she swung her arms forward, the bones all returning and reforming her skeleton, skull and all, before she grew a pair of short bone swords. Fu held her hands out, chakra forming into a pair of short blades in her hands before hardening as Fu shot forward, their blades clashing, throwing off bone chips and chakra sparks, but failing to get through each other's. Then, they began to slash at each other rapidly, their blades clashing again and again as they struggled to land a hit, blocking and dodging as often as striking.

* * *

Ryuu crashed into the ground, bouncing once before Max appeared in front of him, slamming a kick into his chest, blood spraying out of Ryuu's mouth. He flipped, landing on his hands and feet and skidding backward, the flesh on his hands being shredded, before stopping just in time to launch himself backward, Max exploding into the ground. The energy he had collected from his kinetic and potential energy exploded, sending massive boulders flying in every direction. One crashed squarely into Ryuu's chest, shattering his already broken ribs before Ryuu slipped under it, landing on the ground. A second later, blood sprayed out of Ryuu's mouth in place of a scream as Max slammed into his chest, knees first. He flipped off instantly and shot high into the air before swiping his arms downward, spears of pure light forming and flashing down into Ryuu's limbs, three per limb, pinning him to the ground. Then, he dropped, landing on his feet over Ryuu, feet on either side of Ryuu's torso, another light spear forming in his hand.

"Thought...Oro...maru...wanted...me," Ryuu choked out around his own blood.

"Only your Sharingan," Max said. "You're too much a threat. I'm sorry Ryuu. You did well, but I can't die this time. Hopefully we can be together again in the afterlife."

Then, Max drove the spear downward, blood beginning to soak the ground instantly. Just as he did, Lena and Fu crashed to the ground, Lena flipping backward and landing on her feet as Fu bounced away, rolling to a stop before looking over to Max and Ryuu.

"Ryuu!" she shrieked instantly, beginning to sob. "No! You can't! You're not dead! You bastard! You said Orochimaru wanted him!"

"His Sharingan," Max said. "He's given up on Ryuu. I'm so sorry, Fu. I never wanted this."

"Neither did I."

All three whipped their heads around to the side where Ryuu staggered out of the trees, the holes in his arms and legs just finishing sealing, and his torso rippling and cracking as his ribs reset and his organs mended themselves. Blood coated his chin from his mouth, his entire body was coated in blood from the multiple wounds he had suffered and healed during the fight, and there was a wound in his forehead that was just starting to seal, though it looked to be shallow, despite the blood flooding out of it and into his eyes, the blood running out of the corners of his eyes like tears, making his eyes burn.

"That was too close," Ryuu said. "Whatever this new jutsu is, it's exhausting. And it's fucking hard to use when I'm in pain, or pinned down."

Fu shot across the clearing they were in, grabbing Ryuu in a hug and spinning. "I thought I lost you!"

"The fight's not over yet, Fu," Ryuu said. "No throwing out death flags yet."

Fu set him on his feet and nodded, turning back to Lena and Max. Lena held her arms out to the sides, growing a pair of bone swords and stepping forward, only to freeze, entire body beginning to tremble.

"What's going on?" Max asked. "What are you doing?"

"Fu, watch out for him," Lena said, taking another step but shaking badly with the obvious strain of resisting, though Ryuu wasn't sure how.

"I will," Fu said. "Always."

Lena nodded, face contorting in effort as the cracks in her body began to deepen, a white aura enveloping her body. Then, all at once, it deconstructed, a corpse falling out of it, and left a glowing, transparent Lena behind.

"I've heard so much about you, Fu," Lena smiled as she began to rise. "I was so afraid that he would be alone after Max and I died. I'm so happy he still had you. Please, stay by his side. I may never be able to have him, but as long as he has you, that's enough."

"I will," Fu nodded.

Lena smiled. "Good."

"How did you regain control?" Max asked, his body forming a light sword.

"I refuse to hurt Ryuu or the person he loves anymore," Lena said. "I wanted to test her, to see if she was willing to do whatever it takes to be by his side, and was also capable of it. And now that I know she is, I won't be controlled anymore."

Max smiled, crouching and raising the sword. "I see."

Lena faded and Max shot forward. Ryuu moved to meet his charge, ducking around the blade and drilling a punch into his jaw, throwing him backward.

"Lena always _was_ the best of us," Max said, his body regenerating a little slower than before. "I can't take control like her."

"I know," Ryuu nodded as Max stood. "We'll find a way."

"Thank you," Max said.

"Fu, I need you to talk to Chomei, see if he knows a way to force Max's soul to return to the afterlife. I'll deal with him while you do."

"Okay," Fu nodded. "Please be careful."

"I can't promise that," Ryuu said. "Hurry."

Fu leapt backward and Ryuu shot forward just as Max finished regenerating. Light encased Max's fist as Ryuu's Gale Armor encased his own. Their fists exploded into each other's twice before Ryuu blinked and felt ten punches explode into his torso, sending him streaking backward. He instinctively activated his Body Flicker Technique and extended his wings, stopping himself as Max streaked toward him, the world around them seeming to be frozen. Ryuu shot forward, brusheding Max's punch aside and Max spun, swinging a windmill kick at Ryuu. Ryuu ducked under it, flipping forward, his feet swinging down at Max from above. Max blocked them with one hand, then drilled the other fist into Ryuu's back, breaking his spine. Ryuu flipped and spun away, his legs completely numb. After a moment, he managed to stop himself right-side-up, and shot forward, shouting in agony as his back cracked loudly, resetting and beginning to heal. Max's right fist began to all but shine and Ryuu focused, ducking to the side just in time to avoid the punch, the Gale Armor on his right fist turning blue and growing into the same demonic hand that Sora could form, the one Ryuu had been unable to form before. Ryuu slammed the hand into Max's chest and it exploded outward, expanding into the full-size version before hooting outward for a dozen feet before exploding, sending Max blasting backward along the ground, slowing down at the same time as Ryuu allowed his Body Flicker Technique to end, head spinning as his wings faded, his body falling limply to the ground. He crashed to the ground on his back, vision swimming for a moment before returning, allowing him to see Max falling toward him, right fist shining. He grunted in effort, rolling up onto his shoulders and focusing whatever chakra he had left into his feet, forming Gale Armor around them one last time before kicking upward. His feet met Max's face and the Gale Armor exploded upward into a massive tornado of Wind Chakra, obliterating Max's upper half. Max's body flipped end over end as it fell, crashing down just above Ryuu.

It began to regenerate slowly, the ashes slowly climbing from his wait to form his front half first, forming his face before beginning to spread backward, leaving Max lying with the top of his head pointed toward the top of Ryuu's, a few inches separating them. Both lay motionless, Ryuu completely out of strength, and Max unable to move while his body regenerated.

"You've grown so strong," Max said. "If I wasn't immortal, I'd have died a long time ago."

"If...you weren't...immortal...we...wouldn't be...fighting...because...you wouldn't be...being controlled," Ryuu panted.

"I suppose so," Max chuckled. "I'm proud of you. You were always stronger than I could ever hope to be. Even with my Kekkei Genkai."

"That's not true," Ryuu said. "You were stronger. You sacrificed yourself for us, even though it meant that you could never be with Lena. And you could have killed me a thousand times during our fight."

"I don't mean power-wise," Max said. "You were strong in ways I could never have been. If it had been Fu instead of Lena, and she were in love with someone else, you would have sacrificed yourself without a second thought. It's easy to sacrifice yourself for the one you love. But you were always stronger than me. Real strength. Not just physically. You were braver, more determined. No matter how hopeless it seemed, you never gave up. No matter how much what we had to do there tore at you, you never gave up. And you were never afraid of anything that happened there. You'd have fought Orochimaru himself if it had meant saving us and Fu. I could have never been that brave. Or that selfless. Even when I was sacrificing myself for you, it wasn't what I wanted. I wanted to kill you. I wanted to kill you for being the one she chose. But I knew that if I did, I would cause her more pain than Orochimaru and his thugs ever could."

"I don't blame you," Ryuu smiled. "If I was ever strong, it was because of you and Lena. Even my strength now, being this powerful, it's all because of the two of you. I don't want to fail anyone. I can't. Not like I failed the two of you. Not again. Never again."

"You won't," Max said as his body finished regenerating and he stood, forming a light blade. "I guess this is it, then."

"Yeah," Ryuu nodded. "Just in time."

Fu appeared behind Max, placing a hand to his back. Instantly a seal flashed over his body and shone. Then, all of the ash and paper making up Max's body exploded off, the corpse collapsing beside Ryuu as Max's soul began to rise.

"Holy shit," Max said, staring at his translucent hands. "You found a way. How?"

"It's a seal that rips the soul from a person's body," Fu said. "It's the first half of how Chomei was sealed in his first host. It's meant to seal the soul away, but if I don't seal you, you can move on again."

"Thank you," Max smiled. "Ryuu, we'll be watching. Never give up who you are."

"I won't," Ryuu smiled. "I hope you can win Lena's heart while you're together."

Max smiled, shaking his head. "It's always belonged to you."

Ryuu nodded as Max began to rise faster, fading as he went until he was gone. Ryuu sighed and his vision began to swim again, darkness closing in rapidly.

"Stay awake," Fu's voice whispered from somewhere far away, Ryuu struggling to cling to it. "You need to stay awake. You've used up too much chakra."

He felt chakra begin to trickle into his body, drawing him back toward reality, and clung to it, forcing his eyes open, lights and colors dancing in front of his eyes. He could barely make out Fu, but that was about it.

"Just hang in there," Fu's voice again whispered. "Just hang in there. We're almost done."

He wondered for a moment who the "we" was, and also what they were doing. However, his mind was too exhausted to care, and before he could consider it for more than what felt like a moment, a second voice finally gave him permission to sleep. He fought it, however.

"It's alright," Fu's voice whispered, sounding further away. "Rest. I'll be here when you wake."

Ryuu sighed as he felt himself slipping away, drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

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	105. Chapter 105

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Next Task

Ryuu groaned quietly, shifting weakly as he forced his eyes open. Everything hurt. His entire body felt like he'd been Kakuzu's punching bag, which he would have preferred, his eyes burned like they were on fire, and he felt exhausted. His eyes slowly drifted around the room. Fu was asleep in a chair beside him, her upper body lying on the bed, Tayuya and Yugao were in a pair of chairs off to the left, also asleep, and when Ryuu began to raise his left arm, he felt the prick of an IV. He had a feeling he had been asleep for a while again, though, since he didn't have a feeding tube, he suspected it wasn't too long. He reached over, gently dragging his fingers through Fu's hair and she stirred, sighing softly before looking up at him, eyes widening before she smiled.

"Hey," she said softly. "How do you feel?"

"Like I got run over by a train," Ryuu said. "How long have I been out?"

"A couple days," Fu said. "You missed Sora leaving."

"I missed Naruto saving him too," Ryuu said. "What happened?"

"So much," Fu said. "Where to start. Well, firstly, Sora was what's called a Pseudo-Jinchuriki. After the Nine-tails attacked the Hidden Leaf Village before being sealed into Naruto, some of the chakra it released that hadn't dissipated yet was collected into Sora, making him a Jinchuriki of a sort of copy of Kurama. While we were fighting Max and Lena, Sora lost control of his Tailed Beast Chakra. One of the four ninjas you restrained broke free, apparently Sora's father, who was supposed to be dead, and manipulated Sora into losing control of his anger. Then when Naruto tried to stop Sora, Naruto almost lost control too. Everyone showed up and tried to help, but in the end, Naruto was the one to get through to Sora. You know how Naruto is."

"Yeah," Ryuu nodded. "And his father?"

"Asuma took him out," Fu said.

"Well, at least that all worked out well," Sado sighed. "I kinda wish I could have shown Sora that I learned his jutsu."

"I'm sure he'll be back," Fu said, smirking. "I think he got a crush on me after he found out I'm a Jinchuriki."

"On second thought, maybe he should just stay away," Ryuu grumbled.

Fu giggled and kissed his cheek. "Jealous?"

"Are you kidding?" Ryuu asked. "He can use a type of chakra that would give me enough of a power boost to blow the entire Akatsuki away in a single jutsu. Yeah, I'm jealous as fuck."

"He also can't control it, and if he uses it, his hand mutates into a monster's, and he goes on a rampage," Fu pointed out.

Ryuu raised his right hand. "I'm halfway there already. Speaking of non-human entities, where the hell's Tobi?"

"Tobi's here," Tobi said, extending from the ceiling, upside down.

"There you are," Ryuu said. "Any Zetsu problems? Or Akatsuki?"

"Nope," Zetsu said cheerfully. "All clear."

"Good," Ryuu sighed.

"Are you okay?" Fu asked. "I mean...Max and Lena..."

"You know," Ryuu paused, thinking about what he wanted to say. "I blamed myself for their deaths. Even after I had accepted they were gone, I was still carrying their deaths around with me. But facing them again, hearing them both forgive me, and their wish for me to let them rest..." He smiled as a tear slid down his cheek. "It's funny. I had to fight two of the people who mattered the most to me in this world, and yet...I'm good. I don't blame myself anymore. By fighting my friends, I got closure."

"That's good," Fu smiled. "You know, Tsunade wants to give you a reward for defending the village singlehandedly."

Ryuu chuckled. "I think the one request I'd make is probably just to have some time off without the Akatsuki, or Mhao, or Orochimaru, or anyone else interfering."

"Maybe we can have that," Fu smiled.

Ryuu snorted. "Yeah, just as soon as I put them all in the ground." He sighed. "How's Naruto's training going?"

"Yamato has him trying to split a waterfall with Wind Style chakra," Fu said.

Ryuu grimaced. "Tall order for Naruto. However, that should keep him busy for a while. Out of curiosity, how'd everyone react to finding out what Naruto is?"

"I don't think any of them cared," Fu said. "Hinata definitely didn't."

Ryuu nodded, then sighed heavily, sitting up and pulling his IV out, then his heart monitor's sensors. A soon as the flatline tone began, Tayuya and Yugao jerked awake, eyes wide, only to sigh in relief and smile as they saw he was awake.

"Good morning," Yugao smiled. "You gave us all a scare."

"Sorry," Ryuu smiled. "Come on. Let's head home."

"We have to wait for you to be discharged," Tayuya said.

Ryuu snorted in amusement, Fu and Yugao both chuckling.

"What?" Tayuya asked.

"You were never here back when I used to be in here all the time, were you?" Ryuu asked. "I forget that sometimes."

He stood, stretching for a moment before accepting the scrub shirt Fu held out to match the scrub pants he was wearing. Then, he, Fu, and Yugao walked out fo the room, Tayuya following, confused. As they were passing the receptionist desk where Kabuto and Kaori were talking about something, both turned and smiled at them.

"Take care Ryuu," Kaori smiled. "See you again soon."

"More than likely," Ryuu chuckled. "Let me know if anything comes up Kabuto."

"Will do," Kabuto nodded.

As they got outside and started to leave the hospital, Tayuya stared at Ryuu in confusion.

"Before we met, I was in an out of the hospital about every month," Ryuu said. "Broken ribs, near-death, chakra depletion, broken ribs again, full-body cast. It was bad."

Tayuya stared at him before shaking her head. "Jeez. You're accident prone."

"You have no idea," Ryuu chuckled. "I just heal a lot faster now or I'd still be going to the hospital all the time."

Fu nodded in agreement. "Pretty much every fight we get in."

"Hey, it's not my fault we keep running into Hidan and Kakuzu," Ryuu said. "They just love to pester me."

"True," Fu nodded. "And there are so many scores to settle."

Ryuu sighed. "I'd be fine with it staying as it is if they'd just leave you alone."

Fu slipped her hand into his. "They will some day."

Ryuu nodded as they reached the house and headed upstairs to change. Once finished, he walked back down and began to look through the cabinets and fridge, eventually deciding on steak and beginning to get everything ready. However, just as he walked outside and set the steaks on the grill, Kabuto landed beside him. He sighed.

"Alright," Ryuu said. "Let's hear it."

"Kakuzu and Hidan have entered the Land of Fire," Kabuto said. "They destroyed the Fire Temple and killed everyone except one Shinobi Monk who was out on patrol. They took Chiriku's corpse for its bounty."

"Who?" Ryuu asked.

"A friend of Asuma," Kabuto said. "the Fire Temple is where Sora was from, although Sora was on his way to a different temple at the time, and the temple reported he arrived safely."

Ryuu nodded, adding some seasoning to the steaks. "How long ago?"

"About a day," Kabuto said.

"Any nearby collection offices?" Ryuu asked.

"A few legitimate ones," Kabuto said. "A few black market ones."

Ryuu nodded. "Closest one?"

"Assuming they're walking, and not resting at night, probably about three days," Kabuto said.

Ryuu nodded as the others stepped out.

"What's up?" Fu asked.

"Break time's over, as usual," Ryuu said, flipping the steaks over. "After lunch."

"Is it the usual culprits?" Fu asked.

"Isn't it always?" Ryuu asked. "They destroyed the Fire Temple and killed Asuma's friend, and now they're heading for a collection office, though which one is up in the air."

"Asuma's going to want payback," Fu said.

"He's too smart to go looking for a fight with the Akatsuki," Ryuu said, poking at the steaks with the two-pronged grilling tool in his hand, juice leaking out, mixed with a little blood. "He's also got Shikamaru in his team, so they're definitely going to find them. Yugao, can you see if we can get attached?"

"Sure," Yugao nodded. "Save me a steak."

"I will," Ryuu nodded, adding some more seasoning as she left. "So, who wants their steaks well done, and who wants them rare?"

"Medium rare," Tayuya said.

"Rare," Fu said.

"And Yugao loves hers burned to a crisp," Ryuu said. "I swear she has no sense for taste. Kabuto, how do you want yours?"

"Mine?" Kabuto asked, counting the steaks quickly, realizing there was an extra.

"I figured someone would be stopping by," Ryuu said. "Someone always does."

Kabuto smiled, shaking his head. "I'll take mine medium."

Ryuu nodded. "Fu, yours is done."

He put it on a plate and handed it to her, then put his own on a plate, beginning to flicker as a second Ryuu stepped out of the first, cutting up the steak before disappearing, leaving Ryuu at the grill still. As Ryuu continued to grill the steaks, he held out his free hand and focused, thinking back to the first fight with Hidan and Kakuzu after receiving his prosthetics. After a moment, a long, thin root spike extended from his palm and he stabbed a piece of his steak with it, raising it to his mouth and eating it, smiling.

"So I really _can_ do it," Ryuu smiled. "Tayuya, yours is done."

He passed it to her on a plate and she joined Fu. A few minutes later, Yugao returned as Kabuto received his steak. She announced that they'd been attached to Asuma but would have to catch up, so Ryuu began to flicker again as a second one walked inside and let Yomo out of his cage, sending him to find Asuma and his team. Then, Ryuu stopped flickering again and ate another piece of steak before handing Yugao her steak. He shut the grill off and sat down with the rest of them, beginning to use normal silverware to eat. After a few more minutes, they were done eating and Ryuu and Fu took off, bringing Tayuya with them. They flew quickly, Ryuu following a trail of chakra-laced feathers Yomo had left until they landed in front of Shikamaru, Yomo sitting on his shoulder with bald patches.

"Sorry Yomo," Ryuu said, taking his bird back. "Don't worry. I'll make it up to you."

Yomo squawked and Ryuu turned to Asuma.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Ryuu asked.

Asuma nodded and they walked away from the others. "What's up?"

"I know how badly you want to take down Hidan and Kakuzu for killing your friend," Ryuu said.

"They're mine," Asuma said.

"No," Ryuu said. "They're not. You won't win this fight. Our best chance is for me to fight them myself."

"I assume you have a plan," Asuma said.

"Do you have any jutsus only you can use?" Ryuu asked.

"I have one, yeah," Asuma said.

"Kekkei Genkai?" Ryuu asked.

"Not exactly," Asuma said.

"Show me," Ryuu said, activating his Mangekyo Sharingan.

Asuma nodded, standing with one hand the Seal of Confrontation, and the other at his waist, hand horizontal to the ground. Behind him, a massive, glowing silhouette formed, looking like a goddess. Then, Asuma's face contorted with rage and the silhouette changed, becoming a glowing red demon as hundreds of fists materialized in the air between them, punching at Ryuu, only to pass through him as Ryuu flickered.

"Okay," Ryuu nodded. "I can see how do use it. Except, that's not normal chakra you're using."

"No," Asuma agreed. "It's something different."

"Alright," Ryuu nodded. "Here's what we're going to do."

* * *

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	106. Chapter 106

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Plan

Asuma stepped out from behind the building, currently behind Hidan, and hurled several shuriken. Hidan spun, using his scythe's cable to block the blades just before Shikamaru caught Hidan with his shadow and Kotetsu and Izumo to drive their blades through Hidan's chest. Then, Asuma reached Hidan, slashing with his trench knife, only for Hidan to deflect the blade with his cable and yank, bringing the scythe flying back toward him. Asuma flipped backward over it as the two chunin also got distance and Asuma glanced back at Shikamaru, finding Kakuzu standing on top of the building. Asuma cursed. He was early.

"Who are you people?" Hidan asked, then stared at the cloth hanging from Asuma's waist. "That symbol. It's from the Guardian Shinobi something-or-other. Ah terrific. Looks like I'm going to have to go back into that sticky collection office." He groaned.

"We are Shinobi of the Leaf Village," Asuma said. "Our orders are to capture or eliminate you, Akatsuki!" He winced slightly at the malice and hatred that had bled into the last word, but Hidan didn't seem to notice, and Kakuzu was as silent as ever. "My plan was to incapacitate you, since you're the one that can't be killed anyway, and then take your partner down."

Hidan chuckled. "Not your lucky day. You're far to slow to land a hit on me. There's only one person in your village that I would actually be worried if he were here, but he's not.

"Hidan, you've struck gold for once," Kakuzu said.

"Kakuzu, just stay out of this," Hidan said. "I want these three for my ritual. You can have them after."

"Very well," Kakuzu said. "But don't get careless. We don't need _him_ showing up while you're in the middle of it."

"I'll make it a quick prayer," Hidan promised, beginning to use his blood to draw a seal.

"Try to capture Hidan with your Shadow Stitching," Asuma said. "Even if it's only for an instant, that's all the time I'll need to take his head off."

"This kind of move is crazy risky," Shikamaru said. "It's not like you."

"I'll go in with you," Kotetsu volunteered.

"Don't you guys get it!?" Asuma snapped. "It's the only move we've got!"

Shikamaru blinked, brow furrowing in confusion.

"Look, these two are stronger than I am," Asuma explained. "Izumo and Kotetsu, you two will provide Shikamaru with backup against the other Akatsuki."

"Now that we have an idea of the enemy's strength, wouldn't it be better for us to fall back and regroup?" Izumo asked. "Or call for back up? That team we met before isn't far away. They could be here in a minute at most if we signaled now."

"You think they're going to just let us turn around and walk away?" Asuma asked. "If we don't stand and fight them right now, we'll be slaughtered, and the leaf Village will be in even more danger. And as for summoning backup, the moment we do, these two might bolt. For now, it's better if we do what we can now, and then signal when we're sure we can keep them from running away."

"He's right," Shikamaru said, as much as I hate to admit it. "But Asuma, Climbing Silver. It's not a role that suits you."

Asuma turned and grinned back at him. "You've got my back, right?"

Shikamaru nodded just as Hidan ripped one of the two swords still impaling him out, then the other.

"Are you done strategizing yet?" Hidan asked. "What annoying flies you are, poking me right and left. The gods shall punish those who don't understand the pain of others."

After a moment, Asuma and Hidan both charged, Hidan using one of the swords to attack, only for Asuma to cut straight through with his trench knife, streaming chakra along it. As soon as he had passed Hidan, he spun, reversing directions on a dime as Shikamaru's shadow raced toward Hidan.

"That's a nifty little weapon you've got there," Hidan said, flipping over Shikamaru's shadow and hurling the base of the sword at Asuma, who smashed it with his chakra. "Reminds me of that little brat's blade. Did you teach it to him?" He sent his scythe at Asuma and Asuma deflected it.

It stabbed into the ground and Hidan retracted his cable, pulling himself away from Shikamaru's shadow tendrils again. As he neared Asuma again, he pulled the other sword out and Asuma narrowed his eyes. Hidan kicked off the ground, flying high before falling at Asuma. Asuma jumped, cutting through the sword again before dropping low as the scythe passed over him. Hidan smirked, rounding on Asuma again. However, as he did, he sent the scythe flying at Shikamaru.

Asuma's eyes widened and he stood straight, one hand in front of his chest vertically, the other at his waist. The same silhouette he had shown Ryuu before appeared behind him, its arms spreading outward behind it. One blocked Hidan's scythe, another drilled its fingers into Hidan's abdomen, hurling him away. Hidan groaned, holding his abdomen as he glared at Asuma.

"You made a mistake, Hidan," Asuma said. "You underestimated your opponent. This fight is over."

"We'll see!" Hidan grinned, charging and sending out his scythe again.

Another hand blocked it as Hidan reached Asuma, his collapsible spear in his free hand, only for a red fist to explode down on him from above, vanishing instantly and bouncing Hidan off the ground. Rage, hatred, and bloodlust shone from Asuma's face and fists began to explode down on Hidan rapidly, powdering his bones rapidly.

"Hidan!" Kakuzu shouted. "What's going on!? His power spiked rapidly!"

Asuma continued the assault for several more seconds before the last fist was gone and the silhouette faded, Asuma beginning to pant, staggering back several steps before dropping to his knees. Kakuzu watched him carefully before seeming to relax, dropping off of the collection office.

"My turn," Kakuzu said.

"No you don't!" Hidan snapped.

Asuma spun just in time to block Hidan's spear, the middle blade managing to stab into his cheek bone about an inch. Asuma grunted as Hidan ripped it back out and retracting the cable, catching the scythe and licking the blood. As his body darkened, his broken bones snapped and cracked rapidly, beginning to mend themselves, though only slowly.

"Asuma!" Shikamaru shouted, his shadow struggling to catch Hidan as Hidan headed for his seal.

Asuma charged, forming hand seals. "Burning Ash!"

He exhaled a cloud of smoke, then clicked the metal plating in his teeth, causing a spark and igniting the gas in the smoke, the jutsu erupting into a massive fireball. However, as it did, he grit his teeth and groaned quietly as his right arm and the right side of his face burned.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" Hidan asked. "Judgement has been passed. So whataya think? Helps you understands the suffering of others a bit more, doesn't it?"

Asuma flexed his right hand, pain searing through his body, only for him to ignore it.

"I have already cursed you, and now the ritual will begin," Hidan said, grinning sadistically at Asuma. "Well then, let's experience the ultimate pain together, shall we?"

He picked up his collapsible spear as Asuma charged. Hidan drove the spear down into his leg and Asuma shouted in pain, continuing to run.

"You can keep going, huh?" Hidan grinned. "Alright! Try this one!" He stabbed himself in the other leg and Asuma collapsed.

Then, Hidan leapt to the side away from Shikamaru's shadow. The moment he landed, Izumo appeared behind him, slashing him with a kunai, distracting him just long enough for Kotetsu to arrive, supporting Asuma. Hidan's eyes widened just before he slashed, removing Hidan's head. It spun into the air, Hidan's skin returning to normal, and Asuma turned to Kakuzu.

"Your turn," Asuma said.

"And you intend to fight me in that condition?" Kakuzu asked.

"No," Asuma said. "Signal for backup."

Izumo fired a flare into the sky and Asuma grinned.

"You have exactly one minute starting now until Ryuu Uchiha arrives," Asuma said.

Kakuzu swore instantly and all hell broke loose. The ground below Hidan exploded, black cords instantly reattaching his head to his shoulders. Kakuzu appeared behind Shikamaru and drilled a darkened fist into his side, sending him exploding into the collection office. Asuma pushed off of Kotetsu, throwing Kotetsu to the side just in time for Hidan's spear to drive itself through Asuma's left lung. Then, Hidan hurled Asuma aside, glaring at the three chunin.

"Kakuzu, kill the shadow-user," Hidan said. "I've got a ritual to finish. And Jashin will have to forgive me, but I'll skip the prayer today."

"Shit!" Izumo said. "What do we do?"

"Run!" Asuma said, forcing himself to his feet, struggling to ignore the pain as he charged at Kakuzu. "Take Shikamaru and run!"

Kakuzu turned and punched at Asuma, just as he stumbled, barely avoiding the punch thanks to it, but his blade sparked off of Kakuzu's torso. Asuma spun, hurling the blade at Hidan, chakra streaming over it, and the blade punched through Hidan's chest, sending him flying past the seal, shouting in pain. Izumo and Kotetsu appeared behind Kakuzu with a new pair of swords and slashed him in an "X", a chain connecting their sword wrapping around Kakuzu and restraining him. However, as they did the ground below them shattered, black cords streaking up and catching them, preparing to rip out their hearts. Asuma began to stand, but Kakuzu lifted his arms, shattering the chains before grabbing Asuma by the hair and lifting him, punching him in the back and shattering his spine before dropping him again.

"All yours, Hidan," Kakuzu said.

"Good," Hidan grinned, stepping into his seal again. "Let's make this quick!" He raised his spear and grinned. "Say goodnight!"

And then, he drove the spear through his own heart and spinal cord, a matching wound opening on Asuma. Asuma tried to inhale, but he couldn't. He didn't feel the pain, either. He stared blankly ahead, deaf to Shikamaru calling out to him, to Hidan laughing, to Izumo and Kotetsu struggling to free themselves from Kakuzu's cords. And then, they were free, and Ryuu was streaking toward Hidan. Hidan swore loudly, using his spear to deflect Ryuu's tanto, then jumped, kicking Ryuu's fist and using it to leap into the air, flipping backward onto the building's roof.

"You're too late, kid," Hidan said. "Again. I'm already done. Kakuzu, let's bug out."

"We'll lose the bounty," Kakuzu said, looking to Asuma, finding Fu and Tayuya both kneeling beside him, Fu having brought Shikamaru to him as well, since Shikamaru was too exhausted to stand after using his jutsu so much to try and catch Hidan, as well as taking a direct hit from Kakuzu. "Fine. Let's go."

"You two aren't going anywhere!" Ryuu said, drawing his trench knife as well.

He moved to charge, but before he could, a mass of cords grew out of Kakuzu's cloak and fired a massive wall of flames at Fu and the others. Ryuu swore, appearing in front of them and blocking the jutsu with a Water Style one of his own. Then, as the steam cleared, he sighed, seeing they were gone.

"We should go after them," Fu said. "They'll be trouble later."

"Don't worry," Ryuu said, walking over to them. "I put a tracking seal on Hidan's foot."

"How are you so calm!?" Shikamaru demanded. "Asuma's dead! Your plan failed! You were late!"

Just then, Ino and Choji both landed beside Asuma as well.

"What happened!?" Ino demanded, beginning to try and heal Asuma.

"Hidan cursed him," Ryuu said calmly. "Then killed him."

"How can you say that so calmly!?" Ino demanded. "He's dead! Asuma Sensei is dead!"

"Yeah, about that," Ryuu said, kneeling and setting a hand on Asuma's chest, closing his eyes for a second. "You ready Fu?"

"Ready," Fu nodded, her own hands on Ryuu's back.

"Christ I hope I'm right about this," Ryuu said. "Please, God, let me be right about this."

Suddenly, Asuma began to change. His body shrunk slightly, losing a full foot, and then some, before his skin began to pale. Not by much, but it lost its natural tan. His hair shortened and grew messier, and his facial hair disappeared entirely. Then, by the time the facial features were done reconstructing themselves, they were staring at a second Ryuu, not Asuma.

"What the…" Shikamaru trailed off. "It's...another you?"

"Yup," Ryuu nodded. "Please let me be right."

Both began to flicker suddenly, before the wounded one faded quickly from existence. All of the blood he had left faded, and all that was left behind were the completely shell-shocked and confused stares of everyone besides Ryuu and his team.

"What the...hell just happened?" Shikamaru asked.

"It's...a..." Ryuu tipped to the side, and Fu caught him, gently setting him down and scanning him with Medical Ninjutsu before sighing and transferring him a little of her own. "Thanks. It's a...little...hard...to explain."

"Stop talking," Fu said. "I'll explain. You're about to die for real from using up all your chakra. And you are _never_ doing that again."

"Agreed," Ryuu smiled.

"Will someone, please, tell us what the hell just happened?" Izumo asked.

"Ryuu swapped places with me," Asuma said, walking over to them from the trees. "He saved my life."

"Asuma!" Shikamaru shouted, running over to him and hugging him. "But...how did he..."

"It's his Body Flicker Technique," Fu said.

"That wasn't a Body Flicker Technique," Shikamaru said. "There were two of him. And neither was a clone."

"You're right," Fu said. "Because of what he's been through, he's become so fast that he can literally exist in two places at once. However, it's exhausting to use for more than a second, and he hasn't had the chance to practice it. When I said he's about to die from using up his chakra, that might actually be true."

"He can exist in two places at once?" Choji asked.

"Yes," Fu said. "Then if one of the two receives an injury, he can more or less choose to be the other, and the one who was wounded will no longer be exist, because he wasn't there. It's...complicated."

"And obviously the drawback for such an overpowered jutsu is that it uses up monstrous amounts of chakra," Ino said.

"That's right," Fu said. "He's also never had one of the two possible paths die completely before, so we had no idea if he would be able to survive."

"I wasn't actually dead," Ryuu said. "My heart had stopped, and I wasn't breathing, but my medical Ninjutsu was keeping my brain functioning, the same way it naturally heals me."

"I see," Fu nodded. "Would you have died?"

Yes," Ryuu said. "Without a doubt."

Fu nodded.

"But, you're both so powerful," Choji said. "Why do this? Why not just fight them with us and kill them both?"

"Because they have a nasty habit of escaping fights with us," Ryuu said. "If we were in an all-out battle that they weren't caught by surprise for, they'd escape again without any repercussions. I correctly assumed they'd want Asuma for his bounty, so I switched places with him and allowed myself to be killed. Then I chose to be the one showing up to rescue you all, and placed a tracking seal on Hidan. Hopefully, he'll lead us to the Akatsuki's leader. And if not, we'll just use the seal to track him down and kill him next time."

"So all of this was just to pick a fight with a _stronger_ Akatsuki member?" Shikamaru asked.

"All of this was to minimize damage while also gaining an advantage over the Akatsuki," Ryuu said. "They think Asuma's dead now, so Asuma can be used to spring a trap against them the next time we fight, if necessary. And if he leads us to the leader of the Akatsuki, our strongest Shinobi, like myself, Master Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Might Guy, can go after the leader and put him down before he's ready for us."

Shikamaru was silent for a long few seconds before, finally, he sighed. "It's a good plan. And not filling us in on it was smart, because our reactions needed to be real in order to fool Kakuzu. Hidan, no. But Kakuzu's too bright for us to fool otherwise."

"But, how did you use that jutsu?" Kotetsu asked. "The one with the silhouette."

"I used my Sharingan to watch Asuma use it, so I would know how, and then I had him give me some of the specialized monk chakra needed for the jutsu, which I stored in a seal," Ryuu said, holding up his right hand and displaying an empty seal just before it faded. "I like the jutsu. It's powerful. I might try to make a version that uses normal chakra."

"Good luck," Asuma said. "Anyway, we should all get back to the village and give Lady Tsunade our report."

"Right," Ryuu nodded. "I'll monitor Hidan while we go. The seal allows me to sense who's around him, so I'll know if he meets with other Akatsuki."

The others nodded and Fu lifted Ryuu onto her back. Then, they were off.

* * *

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	107. Chapter 107

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Training

Ryuu deflected Naruto's blade again and again, Naruto pushing himself harder to try and at least make Ryuu move from the spot he was standing. His kenjutsu had improved drastically, but he had a long ways to go. Ryuu deflected the blade into the air and Naruto spun, dropping and slashing at Ryuu's legs. Ryuu jumped, and instantly realized that was the wrong move. Naruto grinned and flipped onto his free hand, as he favored a one-handed fighting style the same way Ryuu did, and slammed a kick into Ryuu's crossed arms, throwing him away. Ryuu flipped backward, landing on his feet and smiled, nodding.

"Well done, Naruto," Ryuu said, letting his Vacuum Blade disappear. "You're a quick study. You've improved the most drastically out of anyone I've ever trained, arguably except for Hinata."

Both turned, watching as Hinata and Fu sparred, both of them using both their sword, Hinata currently using a training katana like Naruto while Fu used a Water Sword. Hinata was good. Like, intimidatingly so. She was actually pressing Fu hard, which even Ryuu had trouble doing in a purely kenjutsu match.

"She's so amazing," Naruto mumbled.

"Oh really?" Ryuu grinned.

"Uh, I mean, at kenjutsu!" Naruto said hurriedly. "She's so good she's actually holding her own against Fu!"

Ryuu chuckled. "That she is. But it's okay if you meant she was amazing for other reasons. I think the two of you would be good for each other."

"I don't feel that way about her," Naruto said. "I like Sakura."

"Do you?" Ryuu asked. "Or were you just trying to find another way to compete with Sasuke, which is why you haven't made a single move to try and win Sakura over while Sasuke's been away, because it wouldn't be a challenge that way?"

Naruto stared at him, then at the ground. "I...I don't..."

"Anyway, back to your training," Ryuu said, Naruto nodding. "Show me a Vacuum Blade."

Naruto formed one quickly.

"Now, I'm going to blindfold you, and you're going to attack my clones," Ryuu said. "You have to learn to sense their chakra."

"But, I'm not a sensor type," Naruto said. "I've never been able to."

"It's never too late to learn," Ryuu said. "And doing so will improve your chakra control drastically."

Naruto nodded and Ryuu blindfolded him before forming three clones. The clones spread out around Naruto and Ryuu explained to Naruto how to sense for chakra, then turned to Yugao as she walked over. She had been helping Shikamaru train his chakra reserves and endurance with Asuma, and off to the side from them, Kakashi and Yamato were still helping the real Naruto train his new Rasengan.

"What's up?" Ryuu asked.

"I was told to give you a new test weapon," Yugao said, handing him some kind of blade in a sheath. "Tsunade asked you to test it out, since you're the one who uses blades most commonly."

Ryuu nodded and drew the blade. It was about the same length as his tanto, except that it was chakra metal, and was all one piece of metal with tape around the grip, a flat part on either side of the guard with the Konoha leaf symbol engraved into it, then the blade going from the edges of the guard on top in a smooth curve upward, then curving to a point. The blade didn't have a flat section along the blunt sides, instead having a small ridge along them, making it a four-sides, vaguely western-style blade. He liked it, but he was partial to his tanto, for obvious reasons. However, he was asked to test it, so he would.

He looked up at the Naruto clone he was training, finding him doing admirably at the training, though not perfectly. Ryuu attached the blade's sheath to the back of his belt before drawing the blade again and channeling his chakra into it. The silhouette it naturally formed was double the blade's normal length, and took the form of a broader double-edged blade with the silhouette's guard also sharpened and extending outward from the blade's actual guard, then spiked upward on the ends. He was less a fan of the silhouette, but it could be useful.

"How's Shikamaru's training going?" Ryuu asked.

"Seeing what he thought was Asuma die lit a fire in him," Yugao said. "He refuses to lose anyone again, and he wants to be strong enough to actually watch Asuma's back next time. I don't know if he's _ever_ trained this hard before. And from what I've heard, Ino and Choji are doing the same thing."

Ryuu nodded. "Good. Hidan and Kakuzu are both still on the move and inside the Land of Fire. I'm not sure what they're up to, but we'll need to deal with them. Soon."

Yugao nodded. "Hopefully for good, this time."

"I couldn't agree more," Ryuu nodded. "I'm going to go see Tsunade. Can you take over training Naruto to be a sensor?"

"Absolutely," Yugao nodded.

Ryuu released his clones and extended his wings, taking off for Tsunade's office. After a few minutes, he knocked on the door and it opened, revealing Danzo. Ryuu's hand instantly grabbed the handle of his new weapon. Perfect opportunity to test it out. However, he stopped himself. Deserving as Danzo may be, he couldn't attack him without an excuse. Danzo glared at Ryuu in silence.

"Get the hell out of the way, Danzo!" Tsunade snapped.

Danzo stepped aside and Ryuu walked in, Danzo closing the door behind him.

"How can I help you, Ryuu?" Tsunade asked.

Ryuu glanced at Danzo before beginning. "I think we've waited long enough. I'd like permission to go after them with a team of my choosing."

Tsunade nodded. "Granted. Send me the list before you go."

"Now wait just a minute!" Danzo snapped, Ryuu again gripping his new weapon's hilt but keeping it in its sheath. "I've raised concerns about Ryuu's loyalty before, Tsunade! To put such blind trust in someone who's being kept alive by pieces of a member of the Akatsuki is a mistake! Ryuu has proven himself vastly more powerful than these two Akatsuki members numerous times, and yet they have repeatedly managed to escape! Does this not seem suspicious to you? And we have no way of knowing how much he told Orochimaru in order to buy himself rest from Orochimaru's torture and experiments! Here and now, I demand that Ryuu be taken into custody and interrogated to find out if his allegiance remains with the Hidden Leaf!"

"And I assume it would be _your_ faction of the ANBU that hold him?" Tsunade asked.

"It would be my honor, Lady Hokage," Danzo said, bowing.

"Oh sure," Ryuu nodded. "Great idea. And then while you're holding me prisoner, you can take my Sharingan without anyone knowing, and then you can kidnap Fu and turn her into your own personal weapon, just like you tried to do when we were children. Yeah no one's going to fall for your bullshit again, Danzo."

"Ryuu is one of my most skilled, and most loyal, shinobi," Tsunade said. "He suffered through his time with Orochimaru without revealing a single secret about the village, and the substance holding him together is fully under his control, not the other way around. He is no more a traitor to the village than the First Hokage was. You, on the other hand, need I remind you, are still on thin ice. You _have_ been ever since I got here and found out you attacked Ryuu and Fu in the middle of the village in an attempt to kidnap them. You're goddamn lucky I didn't have you executed or banished then and there. And you're lucky I allow you to continue being free still. If you lay a single hand on _any_ of my shinobi, Ryuu and Fu especially, since you seem to be obsessed with them, I _will_ allow Ryuu to do with you as he pleases. And I believe he would please quite a lot."

"Oh I would," Ryuu agreed. "Please, Danzo. Give me an excuse. _Any_ excuse."

Danzo grit his teeth and turned, leaving the room. Ryuu grinned.

"He's going to be a problem again," Ryuu said. "That's the first time he's spoken out about anything in forever."

"If he's a problem, you have my express permission to deal with it as you see fit," Tsunade said. "However, I would advise you against excessive force."

"Don't worry," Ryuu said. "I'm not looking to kill him."

Tsunade nodded and Ryuu left the office, heading back to the field. He walked over to Shikamaru, who was resting from his own training.

"Have you been thinking about Hidan and Kakuzu?" Ryuu asked.

"Yes," Shikamaru said. "I think I have a plan to deal with them, or, at least one to keep them from escaping again."

"Good," Ryuu nodded. "Gather whoever you need for the plan and meet me at the main gate tomorrow morning at dawn. Tsunade's given me clearance to take whoever I need."

Shikamaru nodded. "Ryuu, thank you for protecting Asuma. I don't know what I would've done if he had actually died."

"The same thing you're doing now," Ryuu said. "Just with a bit stronger motivation to kill Hidan. Or as close as you can get."

Shikamaru nodded. "I'll round up the others."

"Who will we be taking?" Ryuu asked.

"Us, Choji, Ino, and Fu," Shikamaru said. "However, you're not going to like Fu's involvement."

"Bait," Ryuu said. "I trust your plan."

Shikamaru smiled. "Thanks. I can tell you on the way to them."

Ryuu nodded, sending a clone to let Tsunade know who was going, as well as that he would like Teak Kakashi as emergency backup if needed. Then, he and Shikamaru both returned to their training, Ryuu having both Naruto and Yugao attack him with their swords so that he could challenge himself.

* * *

Ryuu pulled his flak on and walked to the front door, finding Fu waiting for him. He slipped his hand into hers as they headed for the gate, neither of them speaking. He had told her about Danzo's outburst, and she had agreed that he'd be a problem before long if nothing was done about him. However, as they were not allowed to do anything about him, they had agreed that the best policy was simply to keep an eye out for him.

"Are you ready?" Shikamaru asked as they reached the gate."

"Yes," Ryuu nodded. "I can lead us to him, or we can get ahead of him and set an ambush."

"Ambush," Shikamaru said. "I need to get something ready anyway."

"Alright," Ryuu nodded. "Fill me in on this plan while we travel."

Shikamaru nodded and they left, Shikamaru beginning to explain from the first stage of the plan.

* * *

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	108. Chapter 108

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

Final Round

"How long do you think Tsunade will give us before she sends Naruto after us?" Choji asked.

"Less than twenty four hours if Naruto can perfect his jutsu," Ryuus aid. "If he can't, twenty four tops."

"Will we be done by then?" Ino asked.

"Yes," Shikamaru said. "Ryuu can go toe to toe with Hidan Kakuzu easily, provided Zetsu doesn't interfere."

"Which is why you factored him into your plan," Ryuu smirked. "See, this is why I let _you_ plan for this fight."

Shikamaru nodded. "Regardless, it still leaves us with one extremely important variable."

"Reinforcements," Fu said. "If extras show up besides Zetsu, we'll be in serious trouble, even _with_ Ryuu here."

Ryuu nodded. "Just pray Itachi and the leader don't show up."

"Right," Shikamaru agreed. "That would be the worst-case scenario, obviously excluding the entirety of the Akatsuki. And any of those three are grounds for an immediate retreat, no matter how the battle is progressing."

The others nodded.

"Is there a chance that the entirety of the Akatsuki show up?" Choji asked.

"With as much of a headache as I've been, repeatedly beating Hidan and Kakuzu, protecting Fu, saving Yugito, and living in the village where Naruto is, yes," Ryuu said. "We have to assume they want me dead. And they'll want Fu."

Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru nodded.

"We'll be careful," Shikamaru said. "We're almost there."

Ryuu nodded and reached back, resting a hand on his chakra blade. "As planned, you make the first strike and I'll come in once you've got them immobilized."

Shikamaru nodded. "Try to kill them both with your first strike, if you can."

"Believe me," Ryuu said. "I plan to do exactly that."

"Are we sure me being the bait will be enough?" Fu asked.

"Plenty," Ryuu said. "Just be careful."

"I will," Fu nodded.

Shikamaru gave the signal and everyone scattered. They were in an area that Ryuu would call a desert, if not for the gigantic grey trees around. but they didn't seem to fit the land. The land was dry and cracked like a desert, and the trees were all dead. However, they were all at least ten feet wide. most of them more than that, and were spread about two hundred feet or more between any two.

Ryuu landed on the side of one and sank into it, positioning himself where he could watch the ambush unobstructed. Fu hid similarly opposite him, Choji hid himself in a tree where he would attack from if necessary for him to help, and Ino hid off to the side, awaiting a chance to make use of her special jutsus. Then, they waited. After nearly a half hour, Kakuzu and Hidan finally arrived. Shikamaru waited until the timing was perfect and hurled a pair of kunai with paper bombs attacked. Kakuzu hardened his hand to block it, and Hidan used his scythe's cable. The resulting explosions hid the two from view for half a second, but they both leapt out of them almost instantly, Hidan now without his scythe, as he had dropped it when the cable broke. Ryuu waited. Shikamaru's shadow chased Hidan and Kakuzu into their next position just before Shikamaru hurled the chakra blades he had borrowed from Asuma at them, both of them dodging and allowing the blades to stab into their shadows, only to realize doing so had immobilized them.

"We've been had," Kakuzu said.

Four Ryuus appeared around Kakuzu, two in front and two behind, and stabbed him through the chest with their chakra blades, Kakuzu shouting in pain. Ryuu narrowed his eyes.

"Well played," Ryuu said, just before the ground around Kakuzu exploded into a writhing flood of black cords.

All four Ryuus had disappeared just before then, Ryuu reappearing beside Hidan's scythe, resting a hand on it.

"No, hey don't-" The scythe melted as Ryuu's hand glowed red, leaving a puddle of liquid metal behind. "Aw, you asshole! Do you know how hard it was to make that thing!?"

"Do you know how few fucks I give?" Ryuu asked. "I'm going to deal with Hidan fir-"

Shikamaru, who had attached his shadow to Hidan's, turned and sprinted away, Hidan being forced to go with him. "I'm taking this one! I've got a score to settle with him!"

"What the fuck Shikamaru!?' Ryuu shouted after him before sighing. "I swear, it's one thing after another with you people." He vanished just ahead of Kakuzu's cords, reappearing on Kakuzu's opposite side before Kakuzu had even realized he had moved. "Very well. I'll deal with you, then, Kakuzu."

"I think not," Kakuzu said. "I'm not foolish enough to fight you alone."

His cords returned to him, forming nine massive tentacles that launched him off of the ground then spread like wings, only for Fu to explode down into his back, sending him bouncing away. He flipped, stopping himself just as his four masks emerged from the cords and fired their respective jutsus at her. She shrieked in pain as the jutsus exploded, and as soon as the explosion ended, his black cords yanked her limp body from the dust and took her with him as he fled.

"Get the fuck back here with my girlfriend!" Ryuu seethed, taking flight and streaking after Kakuzu.

After several moments, he appeared in front of Kakuzu, the tentacle holding Fu falling away at the end where it was suddenly severed, then shot back the other way, his fist exploding into Kakuzu's chest, sending him exploding into the ground bellow Choji, who plummeted toward him instantly, his hair spiked, hardened, and forming a spear as he fell. He exploded down on Kakuzu, then leapt away, but as Kakuzu walked out of the dust, his body was hardened. It softened as soon as he was out and he smirked.

"Physical attacks are virtually useless against me," Kakuzu said. "I would have thought you knew this."

"We did," Ryuu said, driving a Chidori through Kakuzu's torso. "But you tend to forget your surroundings when you brag."

He ripped his arm back out and vanished less than a second before Kakuzu's tentacles could impale him, causing them to instead smash Kakuzu into the ground. He lifted himself up with his cords and ripped his cowl and mask off, revealing his brown hair and Glasgow smile. He snarled angrily and separated his four masks.

"Fine," Kakuzu snarled. "We'll play this your way. Let's see if your friends are as fast as you!"

His masks began to indiscriminately blast everything around them and Ryuu began to flicker, grabbing Choji and Ino, who also began to flicker, as they avoided the explosions, Ryuu running as quickly as he could as the masks' jutsus exploded all around them. Finally, he skidded to a stop behind a tree, all three of them smoking slightly from a fireball that had come a little too close, despite their speed, and shoved both of the others to the ground before vanishing, reappearing high on the tee just as a beam of Lightning Style charka exploded through the tree down low, barely missing the other two thanks to them laying down, then shot upward, ripping the tree apart as it rose. Ryuu smirked just as it neared him and drew his chakra blade, slashing it in reverse grip and firing a barrage of Air Bullets out, the Air Bullets flashing across the distance between them and punching through the four cord monsters. However, none of the masks were hit and Ryuu grumbled, exploding forward off of the tree, his wings spreading from his back instantly as he shot forward. Kakuzu began to spray jutsus at him again, a Searing Migraine, a Pressure Damage, an Exploding Water Shockwave that had electricity flooding through it, but Ryuu began to flicker and dodged and flipped, avoiding the jutsus as he streaked toward Kakuzu. Kakuzu roared in effort, all four masses combining, the masks spinning, before a vortex of all four elements erupted out of them, rapidly closing the distance and enveloping Ryuu, only for him to suddenly be behind the mass, slashing. His chakra blade's silhouette split both the water and lightning masks before Ryuu spun, his chakra blade spinning into the air and his hardened fist slamming its repulsion seal into Kakuzu's fist.

Cords exploded out of Kakuzu at the seam in his forearm, through his elbow, and through his shoulder, before Ryuu flipped, hardening his leg and forming a repulsion seal on the top of his foot before he slammed it down into the top of Kakuzu's shoulder, sending him exploding into the ground. Then, he caught his chakra blade, streaming his chakra through it, forming the silhouette, then dropped, stabbing down at Kakuzu's chest, only for cords to explode into him out of the ground to his left, hurling him away. He flipped, landing on his feet just as Kakuzu's remaining masks fired a combined jutsu at him.

"Wind Style, Cyclone Wall!"

A spiraling, domed vortex of raging Wind Chakra too thick to see through and green-tinted formed around him and the blast of enhanced supercharged flame exploded into it, only to spiral around the dome, transforming it into a dome of flames that Ryuu then allowed to go out as he ended his jutsu, which was sustaining the flames. He sighed, beginning to flicker as Kakuzu absorbed his two remaining masks into his cord tentacles.

"Aren't you tired of holding back yet?" Kakuzu asked. "We both know this ends only when you kill me. If you're too afraid to do that, what chance do you have?"

"I'm not too afraid to kill you," Ryuu said calmly, four more of him stepping out of the original, all four still flickering. "But it's not quite time for me to finish you yet."

Kakuzu snarled in annoyance. "You cocky little brat! I'll rip you limb from limb!"

He exploded forward, sending out one of his arms and Ryuu knocked it aside, forming a Chidori again and charged, the other four Ryuus scattering. Kakuzu fired a blast of wind and flame at Ryuu, but he was suddenly to the side of it, and when Kakuzu swept it over to him, he was suddenly on the opposite side. Then, before he could sweep the blast back to Ryuu, Ryuu punched at him, only for Kakuzu to catch it. Ryuu grinned as a second upper body formed from Ryuu's back, both flickering rapidly, and drilled its fist into his face, caving it in and sending him rocketing away from Ryuu. Then, one of the other Ryuu's met him in the air and windmill kicked him, sending him exploding through the ground for a ways, forming a deep trench before Kakuzu flipped out of it and the next Ryuu's fist exploded into his chest, sending him streaking into the air where the fourth Ryuu smashed his clasped fists into Kakuzu's back, sending him exploding into the ground.

* * *

Ryuu sprinted toward Fu as he watched Zetsu grow out of the ground, except, he wasn't alone. He opened his Venus Flytrap into tentacles and Itachi stepped away from him.

"I am never travelling like that again," Itachi said.

" **You'll have to in order to get back to Kisame** ," Zetsu said. "It's kind of fun having a partner."

"I'm not your partner," Itachi said.

"Shit!" Ryuu breathed before clenching his fists. "Itachi!"

Itachi stopped, then turned, staring back at Ryuu. "He was supposed to be fighting Kakuzu."

Just then, a massive explosion went off in the distance and Kakuzu's voice roared in rage.

"He _is_ fighting Kakuzu," Zetsu said. " **This is one of his Afterimage Clones.** "

Itachi watched Ryuu for a moment, seeing him flicker, then nodded. "I see. You've grown powerful Ryuu. You've become as fast as your brother."

"Faster," Ryuu snarled, drawing his tanto and trench knife as a kunai dropped out of Itachi's right sleeve into his hand, his left arm, previously folded against the inside of his cloak like a Ronin, shoved that side of the cloak off and drew a kunai from inside the right side of the cloak.

"I see," Itachi said. "I'm proud of you. You grew up well."

"You killed our family," Ryuu snarled. "By the time this fight's over, I _will_ know why. And then I'm going to deal with you and take Fu home again. I'm not allowing you to hurt her."

Itachi watched him for a moment before looking back at Fu, then at Ryuu again. "If you're faster than Shisui, why haven't you taken her already? I wonder, are you actually being pushed too hard to face Kakuzu to be able to split your attention enough to face me as well?"

Ryuu grit his teeth. He was right on the money, as usual. Itachi always _was_ said to be the smartest person in any room. Except maybe for Shikamaru, or Shikamaru's father Shikaku. Ryuu took a long, slow breath, then exploded forward, extending his wings, and streaked directly past Itachi, slashing at Zetsu, who had been going after Fu. Zetsu avoided the slash by blocking it with a root, and the battle began instantly, both Zetsu and Itachi investing their full attention in trying to beat Ryuu.

* * *

Ryuu flipped over Kakuzu's tentacles and landed on his feet, streaking forward and punching at him, only to vanish just before a fist exploded into Kakuzu's back, just as the cords around his body were expanding to fire a Wind-powered Fire Style jutsu. The chakra exploded instantly, erupting into a fireball that rivalled the trees for height. Ryuu reappeared beside Ino and Choji and swore.

"What?" Choji asked. "You're winning! That explosion probably-'

"It only pissed him off!" Ryuu interrupted urgently. "Both of you need to run, now! Itachi and Zetsu are here! I have an Afterimage Clone fighting them, but he's too far away for me to keep it up long, or make more."

"Shit!" Ino swore. "What about Kakuzu and Hidan? And Shikamaru?"

"Shikamaru's got Hidan handled," Ryuu said. "I'll send a clone to warn him, and I've already reverse-summoned Yomo to warn Tsunade that Itachi is here and to respond accordingly."

"We can't just run away!" Choji said.

"You both heard the plan!" Ryuu snapped. "Itachi showing up is immediate retreat criteria! Fall back to the rendezvous!"

"What about you?" Ino asked.

"This is a part of Shikamaru's plan," Ryuu said. "I delay them long enough to retrieve Fu and to allow you all to escape, and then I rejoin you on the way back to the village."

Ino and Choji nodded and turned, sprinting away. As they did, Ryuu exploded forward, drilling a punch into Kakuzu's chest as he moved to intercept them, then turned and fled toward Itachi. Kakuzu flipped and chased him firing at him rapidly as he did, just in time for Ryuu to stop flickering, then fade from existence.

"Fuck!" Kakuzu snarled. "He's faster than I thought. Where'd he-" He stopped as a series of explosions went off in the distance and roots exploded into the air. "Found you!"

* * *

Ryuu flipped and ducked around Zetsu's roots, slashing any that he had to, all the while deflecting Itachi's knives as Itachi pressed him hard. He was careful not to look directly into Itachi's eyes, and as they fought, he pressed Itachi back hard enough to not give him any chance to use Genjutsu any other way. He flipped over Itachi, spinning, and his blades tore through Itachi, only for Itachi to explode into a flock of crows. Then, as Ryuu landed, he solidified and felt the version of him fighting Kakuzu fade. He sighed. Finally, he could go all out here.

"Fire Style, Great Dragon Flame Jutsu!" Itachi shouted, a dozen fireballs exploding into the ground where Ryuu had been.

" **Wood Style, Great Tree Spear!** " Zetsu shouted, massive spiked roots exploding out of the ground all around them, stabbing upward violently and reaching above the trees before stopping, effectively forming a jungle of roots in the process. "Did we get him? **Don't count on it.** "

Ryuu knelt beside Fu, who was still unconscious from having to tank Kakuzu's jutsu using her Tailed Beast Chakra, and lifted her gently. "Hey. It's time to wake up now, Fu. We're in some real trouble here. I could use an extra set of hands."

Fu winced, letting out a small groan as she stirred before looking around, then up at Ryuu. She smiled, then stood, Ryuu unsealing her own tanto and silver kunai from a scroll and handing it to her.

"What are we up against?" Fu asked.

"Itachi and Zetsu, and about to be Kakuzu, too," Ryuu said.

Fu swore. "I guess we shouldn't play around, then."

Ryuu nodded. "Remember, we only need to give them enough time to finish Hidan and escape.

Just then, the Shadow Clone he had sent to warn Shikamaru released its jutsu and reported that he was going to be wrapping up his fight soon. Ryuu sighed. That was good. That meant that Shikamaru would get away safely. All Ryuu had to do was make an opening, and they could get away.

Suddenly, Ryuu grabbed Fu and vanished just before Kakuzu's Wind-enhanced Fire Style jutsu exploded down into the roots, completely obliterating it and missing Ryuu and Fu by only a second. Ryuu flipped into the air off of the concussion and extended his wings, Fu hovering beside him with her own wings, boiling red Tailed Beast Chakra coating her body.

"Not bad," Kakuzu smirked. "I understand now why you were suddenly losing power. You had to fight on two fronts."

"And now that you're here, I can focus my efforts," Ryuu said, beginning to flicker as more and more of him began to spread outward from him, stopping at ten. "I wonder if you can keep up."

"I'll deal with Zetsu," Fu said.

"No," Ryuu said. "Zetsu can make a poison to slow our reaction time, and is probably doing so already. I'll be dealing with him first. Take Kakuzu. Carefully."

"I'm stronger than I was that first time," Fu said. "I'll be fine."

Ryuu nodded and all of him flapped his wings, a sea of chakra feathers streaking down at the three Akatsuki members, erupting into a sea of massive explosions. As soon as the flames were gone, the Ryuus shot downward. One of them swiped a hand, clearing the dust and smoke just in time for a blast of flame to pass through him. Then, five of the Ryuus reached Zetsu, beginning to hack and slash their way through the tentacles as Zetsu struggled to slow them down. Off to the left, one Ryuu and Fu were going after Kakuzu, flipping and dodging around his strikes, delivering their own, both of them using repulsion seals to enhance theirs. The last four Ryuus were attacking Itachi, who was keeping up with them almost perfectly.

"This is getting annoying!" Kakuzu snarled, flipping over Ryuu, the Wind Style mask sending a barrage of short blasts at them, the blasts exploding against the ground as they both avoided them.

"Welcome to my world!" Ryuu shouted, drilling a punch into his back and sending him exploding into the ground.

He bounced into the air and Fu's fist, with both repulsion seal and Tailed Beast Chakra, exploded into his side, sending him blasting through Zetsu's roots and into the other Akatsuki Member. A half-second later, all five of the Ryuus attacking Zetsu shot passed, their Fire Swords splitting both Akatsuki members into multiple pieces, only for Zetsu to transform into a wood mannequin and Kakuzu to fall away as water. The Ryuus flipped and slashed downward as roots exploded out of the ground, Zetsu rising in the center of them, even White Zetsu glaring.

"You're very annoying," Zetsu said. " **Just die!** "

The roots came alive, whipping and stabbing at the Ryuus, who all either passed through them or slashed them with their flaming swords. Then, Itachi exploded through one into Zetsu on the business end of a Pressure Damage, courtesy of one of the Ryuus he was fighting. Both crashed to the ground and more and more roots began to explode out of the ground, swarming at the Ryuus, only for all but one to fade. The roots turned and swarmed at him as he rapidly formed hand seals.

"Fire Style, Majestic Demolisher Flame!" Ryuu shouted before exhaling a jet of flame that incinerated any of the roots it met instantly, heading toward Zetsu and Itachi rapidly.

More roots stabbed at Ryuu, but Fu flashed around and around him, slashing and destroying them with a pair of Water Swords. Suddenly, black flames began to fight against Ryuu's.

"Amaterasu!" Itachi's voice said as the black flames began to win out over Ryuu's, slowly creeping back toward Ryuu.

Then, Ryuu was gone, as was Fu, and the roots exploded together, Itachi's flames crashing into them and beginning to burn them away. Ryuu reappeared in the air over them alone and they all looked up.

"It's time we ended this," Kakuzu said.

"I couldn't agree more," Ryuu said, beginning to form hand seals. "Wind Style, Heel of the Wind God!"

A sphere of green-tinted Wind Chakra roared to life around him before exploding into a tornado. Except, they all saw a second and turned, seeing Fu at its center, directly opposite them from Ryuu. Then, they sensed chakra building up above them and all looked up, seeing a rapidly-growing sphere of raging, green-tinted, razor-sharp, super-compressed Wind Style chakra above them. Within seconds, it was hundreds of meters across. Then, Ryuu and Fu both swung one arm downward and the sphere plummeted toward them. Zetsu began to sink into the ground, only for chakra threads to yank him back up. He swore just as the sphere exploded into the ground, squishing slightly before exploding outward like the most powerful downburst ever. Blades of Wind chakra tore at everything inside of the explosion. Then, it reversed direction, racing back inward and bringing all of the debris from the trees and ground it had decimated, then spiraled into a gigantic tornado, anything and everything inside of it being shredded by blades of wind, battered by flying debris, and finally sent exploding back into the ground as the tornado curled in on itself at the top and became a downburst one final time. As the dust slowly cleared, it revealed a massive crater with Zetsu and Kakuzu laying at the bottom. Itachi, however, was gone.

"You continue to impress," Itachi said from behind Ryuu, Ryuu spinning and seeing him standing on a tree that had been at the edge of the blast radius. "That blast was truly a devastating one. Fortunately, the build up was just a bit too slow."

Ryuu's brow furrowed in confusion and he looked down just as Zetsu and Kakuzu dissolved into a flock of crows. Ryuu sighed, disrupting his chakra and breaking the Genjutsu. The crater wasn't where it was supposed to be. The blast had hit off to the side of their intended targets. Fu flew down next to Ryuu and glared past Itachi to where Zetsu and Kakuzu were stepping into view.

"We slipped up," Fu said.

"Yeah," Ryuu nodded. "We'll have to be more careful."

Fu nodded just as Kakuzu's masks opened, firing a massive blast of flame again.

"Wind Style, Rasengan!" Naruto's voice suddenly shouted.

"Water Style, Ripping Torrent!" Yamato's shouted.

"Hurricane Vortex Jutsu!" Both shouted, as a Rasengan packed with Wind Style chakra, with an excess forming a sort of shuriken silhouette around it, met a massive vortex of water, exploding into a massive typhoon that completely nullified the flames.

Just as the two combined jutsus met, Kakashi appeared behind Zetsu, stabbing him through the head with a Lightning Blade, only for his body to melt into goo. Ryuu swore. Zetsu had escaped again. Again. Naruto, Sakura, and Sai all landed below Ryuu and Fu and they floated to the ground beside them as Kakashi retreated to stand with them, Yamato joining them a moment later with Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino. Across from them, Itachi dropped down next to Kakuzu.

"This isn't looking good," Kakuzu said.

"We should leave, now," Itachi said.

"Right," Kakuzu nodded.

He blasted the ground between them, kicking up a cloud of dust, just as Ryuu slammed his hands down.

"Ninja Art, Anchor Point!" Ryuu shouted.

Strings of seal script shot out of a point on the ground, wrapping around Kakuzu and yanking him back before fading, leaving lines of seal script tattooed into his body where they had touched him. He stood, turning and beginning to run again, making it a hundred meters before the seal script flashed into existence between him and that same spot, yanking him back once again.

"Be happy, Kakuzu," Ryuu said, clearing the dust the rest of the way with a quick Wind Style jutsu. "I created that seal just specifically for you. I just hated having to see you go so bad, you understand."

Kakuzu shouted in rage, firing another blast at Ryuu and the others and they all scattered, avoiding the blast. "I'll kill you all!"

"No," Ryuu said. "This time, you'll die."

"I'll deal with him," Naruto said, stepping forward.

"Excuse me?" Ryuu asked.

"This is the perfect time for me to test out my new jutsu," Naruto said. "Besides," he looked back at Ryuu, "even if it's him, killing him would haunt you, right?"

Ryuu was silent for a moment before nodding. "Thank you."

Naruto nodded, turning back to the front. He formed two clones and both charged instantly. They both drew a kunai and exhaled a Vacuum Blade onto them, then began to attack Kakuzu rapidly. Kakuzu dodged and weaved around Naruto, his cords having shrunk down from tentacles to a writhing mass behind him with the two masks just above his head and to either side. As Naruto's clones struck at Kakuzu again and again, Kakuzu began to get annoyed. Every time he'd catch one clone with his cords, the other would sever them. Finally, he jumped, flipping over Naruto's clones and blasting both with a Fire Style jutsu, destroying them.

Naruto, having watched the fight from the back, took a moment to analyze the clones' memories before nodding to himself. "It's doable. Especially thanks to all your training, Ryuu."

"Alright then," Ryuu nodded. "Let's see what you've got."

Naruto nodded and crouched, spreading his feet slightly. He created three clones, and two of them instantly went to work forming his chakra into his new jutsu. A Rasengan formed, a high, irritating whine ringing out instantly, and the same shuriken blade silhouette from before formed around it before growing to about the size of a fuma shuriken. It began to kick up a strong wind and most of the others shielded their eyes. Ryuu stared at the thing as Naruto lifted it over his head. It was almost painful to look at.

"Wind Style, Rasenshuriken!" Naruto said, then nodded to the clones.

They all drew kunai and took off immediately, forming themselves Vacuum Blades and sped toward Kakuzu rapidly.

"Oh no you don't!" Kakuzu snarled, both masks opening. "I'm not so foolish as to fall for that trick again!"

The masks fired their jutsus, only for both of the jutsus to crash into one of the same element from Fu and Ryuu, the four jutsus being deflected harmlessly behind Kakuzu and exploding. Kakuzu swore, sending out his cords, only for the Narutos to shred their way through. They began to slash at him rapidly, and as he was struggling to keep ahead of them, the real Naruto charged.

"When did Naruto get so strong?" Ino asked.

"I've been training him relentlessly in taijutsu and kenjutsu for forever," Ryuu said. "Looks like it's finally paying off."

Fu nodded, smiling. "He's come a long way."

Naruto neared Kakuzu just as he smashed one clone into the ground and destroyed it. In doing so, Kakuzu saw Naruto coming and swore. He extended his cords into tentacles again, or maybe they were supposed to be wings, and then leapt off of the ground over Naruto. However, Naruto turned to look back at him and smirked. Kakuzu's brow furrowed in confusion until all three Narutos exploded into smoke. Kakuzu's eyes widened and he looked up, seeing another Naruto passing over him, this one also holding a Rasenshuriken. He passed Kakuzu completely before another clone appeared, allowing Naruto to leap off of him. Kakuzu roared, a mass of cords shooting toward him, only for yet another clone to fall past with a Vacuum Blade, slicing off both the cords attacking Naruto, and two of Kakuzu's wings. Kakuzu swore, going out of control and flipping instantly, allowing Naruto to slam the jutsu into his face. It shot outward instantly, taking Kakuzu with it. As it flew, the Rasenshuriken's blades shredded Kakuzu's cords. Then, it faded. Ryuu blinked, staring at Kakuzu as he fell, bouncing off of the ground and landing heavily on his back, both masks intact and attached to his shoulders by a handful of cords each. Ryuu looked to Yamato, who looked panic-stricken.

"Did it work?" Ino asked.

"No," Ryuu said. "I burned out."

"It's not my lucky day, today," Naruto said, walking past them and stopping, forming a pair of clones again, reforming his jutsu. "It works about seventy five percent of the time. I guess today's just not my day."

He charged again, the clones running at his sides, both once again wielding Vacuum Blades. Then, as they neared Kakuzu, cords exploded out of him, reforming his tentacles, which he sent at the Narutos. However, before they could reach him, a flickering Ryuu appeared in the cords' way, shoving a hand forward and sending a massive, blue, Wind Chakra, demonic hand out of his own hand, the hand blasting through the tentacles easily and clearing Naruto's way to Kakuzu. Then, Ryuu disappeared just in time for Naruto to slam the Rasenshuriken into Kakuzu's gut. This time, after flying for several seconds, it exploded, erupting into a gigantic dome of raging Wind Style chakra, the high whine climbing to a scream as it exploded. Kakuzu hung suspended in the air as tiny blades of chakra tore at him on a molecular level, Ryuu only realizing that's what has happening by seeing the chakra around Kakuzu seeming to boil and rage around him, and blood forming over most of Kakuzu's body. The two masks Kakuzu still had broke apart, the pieces reduced to dust by the chakra blades, and the jutsu finally faded, Kakuzu hovering there as chakra blades continued to assault his body. At the same time, Naruto's legs gave out and Ryuu caught him, taking his arm over one shoulder as Fu took his other side, the two of them supporting his weight for him.

"Impressive Naruto," Ryuu said. "Most impressive."

"Impressive!?" Ino scoffed. "That was amazing!"

"That was so cool!" Choji agreed as Kakuzu's body finally fell, crashing heavily to the ground.

"Does this mean I get a day off from training?" Naruto asked.

"Tell you what," Ryuu smirked. "You can take two days off because I'm going to be enjoying a weekend of no responsibilities."

"Sweet," Naruto grinned. "Kakashi Sensei, where are you going?"

"I'm going to double check," Kakashi said over his shoulder, walking toward the crater. "I'd rather not have this one come after us again."

"Good point," Ryuu said. "Bring his body with you. Tsunade will want to see what his new jutsu does."

Kakashi nodded and slid into the crater. Ryuu turned and pulled Naruto onto his back before extending his wings to hover, since it was less tiring than walking. They all turned, starting to leave and Fu hovered along beside Ryuu, Fu positioned as though laying on her back. After a few minutes, Kakashi caught up, holding up a scroll and nodding, and Ryuu turned to Shikamaru.

"How'd you deal with Hidan?" Ryuu asked.

"I blew him up to dismember him, then burying him fifty feet down under several tons of rock," Shikamaru said.

"Good," Ryuu said. "Personally, I'd like to see if he can survive being dissolved in acid, but your way will work."

Shikamaru nodded and they all settled in for a long trip home.

* * *

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	109. Chapter 109

I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

* * *

One Thing After Another

Ryuu stared blankly at Kaori, who stared right back, except a lot more sternly. Naruto he could understand. Naruto's right arm had been broken in several places from using the Rasenshuriken, and then in addition to that, the Rasenshuriken's real power, the microscopic chakra blades, had damaged his chakra network. Not much, but enough that Tsunade had forbade him from using it anymore. Enough that continued use would leave him unable to use chakra at all. And Naruto wasn't the only one who's situation made it a reasonable request. Shikamaru was beaten all to hell as well. However, Ryuu was fine. His medical ninjutsu had completely healed them before they were even back to the village. but even so, Kaori was demanding that he stay in the hospital for the night just in case.

"Fine," Ryuu finally groaned. "One night. After that, I'm out. I have places to be and people to spend time with."

"Fair enough," Kaori nodded. "But for tonight, you're stuck here. Consider it house arrest."

She turned and walked away and Ryuu sighed. After a few minutes, Tsunade walked into the room, holding the mangled, melted, completely unusable remains of the chakra blade he had brought back with him. He wasn't sure exactly when it had been ruined, but it didn't really surprise him given what he had been up against.

"You know, when I asked you to test it, I didn't mean what it would take to ruin it," Tsunade said.

"It worked well," Ryuu smirked. "It's a decent weapon, and it's one that I would suggest making standard issue for all shinobi. Of course, that also means they'll need some kenjutsu training, and to be taught how chakra blades work. As for it being destroyed, I _was_ fighting three of the stronger Akatsuki members at once, so I'm satisfied with it being in one piece at all."

Tsunade sighed. "I'll have it reforged for you."

"Pass," Ryuu said. "I have my own chakra blade, and my tanto. I really don't need that thing."

Tsunade smirked. "That's too bad because it's now standard issue."

Ryuu rolled his eyes. "Fine. Have them fix up my toy."

Tsunade smirked and walked away, Fu walking in a few moments later.

"Kaori told me you're under house arrest," Fu said.

"Yeah, by _Kaori's_ orders," Ryuu said.

"Yeah, that's what she said," Fu smiled. "I'm fine with this. That means we have all day to do nothing."

"An excellent point," Ryuu smiled. "Shall we get to it?"

"Yes!" Fu grinned.

Both climbed into the bed and within a few minutes they'd both gone back to sleep. Not because they were particularly tired, just because they didn't get to sleep all day often, so they were more than happy to do so when given the opportunity.

* * *

"An ANBU Black Ops sent this message," Tsunade said, handing Ryuu the paper.

Ryuu scanned it with his Sharingan to speed read it and handed it back, nodding. "Understood. Should I assemble a team?"

"Yes," Tsunade said. "I want you to send a report every day once you're there. I want to know _exactly_ what's going on. And I need you to be ready to be reassigned. I'm sending Team Eight, with Kakashi filling in for Kurenai, to investigate another ANBU's report about coming under attack while nearing Orochimaru's hideout. You should be ready to reinforce them as necessary."

Ryuu nodded. "Understood. I'll be taking Fu, Tayuya, and Kabuto. I'll also be taking Tobi, for the usual reason."

Tsunade nodded. "Permission granted. I hope you and Fu enjoyed your day off, because if this report is accurate, it's shaping up to be a very taxing mission."

"Agreed," Ryuu nodded. "I'll be using reverse summoning to send Yomo to you." he placed a seal on the corner of the desk. "He'll show up here."

Tsunade nodded and Ryuu left, heading first to the hospital for Kabuto, and sent him to speak with Tsunade regarding what he knew about the area Team Eight was heading. Then, he headed home, finding Fu and Tayuya sitting in the back of the house. Both looked over at him and smiled. Tayuya was practicing her flute and Fu was practicing with her Wind Style chakra by tossing around a sphere of it.

"We have another mission," Ryuu said, Fu sighing and letting her sphere fade. "You too, Tayuya. We're heading out to investigate an ANBU's report about something happening at the base where we killed Mhao."

Both grew serious instantly and nodded just as Kabuto landed beside them.

"Tsunade filled me in," Kabuto said. "I don't know what he was doing in that base before you killed him, but it can't be good."

"Agreed," Ryuu said. "Tobi!"

Tobi grew out of the ground, already wearing his cloak. "Tobi is here."

"You're coming too," Ryuu said. "Is everyone ready?"

Everyone nodded.

"Good," Ryuu said. "Let's go."

He picked up Kabuto and Fu picked up Tayuya, both of them flying away from the village, Tobi travelling through the ground below them. they all travelled silently for a while before Tayuya spoke up.

"So, why are we heading back to that base?" Tayuya asked after more than an hour.

"An ANBU Black Ops was killed near there and the note he sent back was almost completely gibberish," Ryuu said. "It mentioned hearing the monster drawing closer, but it also talked about something it called the Whisperers, and something called the Statues, and something called the Unseen. We could barely make sense of it, but we decided it was worth looking into since there was blood all over the bird and note both."

"So we're hunting monsters?" Tayuya asked.

"Possibly," Ryuu nodded.

"Well, it'll be a nice change from fighting Akatsuki," Fu said.

"Agreed," Ryuu nodded. "So long as it's not some horribly dangerous monster that stands ten feet tall and rivals a Tailed Beast for destructive potential."

"Christ, Mhao better not have made a new Tailed Beast," Fu said.

"Oh God, please don't wish that on us," Ryuu said, shaking his head. "That fucker himself was annoying enough. I don't want to deal with a false Tailed Beast because of him too."

"Didn't he mention some other experiment we set loose when we were fighting him?" Fu asked.

Ryuu thought back and nodded slowly. "Yeah. He claimed that poison he used on us was fatal to it instantaneously."

"It might have mutated to resist it without him noticing," Fu said. "Or our fight may have allowed it to escape to somewhere without the poison in time to survive."

"Great," Ryuu sighed. "So it's probably our fault then."

Everyone fell silent and they made the rest of the trip that way before landing at the destroyed field where they had all fought, looking around. It was destroyed, just as Ryuu remembered. The collapsed hideout. The scorch marks from Ryuu's Purgatory Reclamation. Mhao's skeleton. It was all as Ryuu remembered. Everything, except for the trail of destroyed trees leading away from the hideout. Ryuu narrowed his eyes. That wasn't good. The trail was probably a hundred feet across. Whatever it was, it was enormous. They followed the trail in silence, all of them watching their surroundings quietly. After about three hours, they reached a village that looked like it was destroyed. Buildings were collapsed. Some had burned. And there was blood everywhere. However, as they searched it, they didn't find a single body.

"Alright, I'll say it," Kabuto said. "We're hunting monsters."

"What the hell could do this?" Ryuu asked. "If the monster left that trail in the trees, it would have done a lot more damage than this. And the buildings were damaged by jutsus."

"Maybe it was that ANBU that sent the message," Fu suggested.

"Maybe," Ryuu mused, extending his wings. "I'll be right back."

He shot into the air, flying until he could see for miles before stopping, looking around. Nothing. The village was the end of the trail. But, that couldn't be right. Something big enough to make a hundred-foot-wide trail through the woods didn't just disappear. And it didn't burn down villages. it would crush them. And then, where were the bodies? he didn't like it. He dropped, landing lightly beside Fu and activating his Sharingan, looking around slowly. He was missing something. He _had_ to be missing something.

"This doesn't make any sense," Ryuu said. "The trail ends here. But there's nothing!"

"Maybe it could fly," Kabuto suggested. "It could have crawled, or walked, here because it was recovering from the poison, then flown away after."

"And the bodies?" Ryuu asked.

"I'd guess probably food," Kabuto said.

Ryuu nodded. "We'll have to find neighboring villages. Tobi."

"Yes?" Tobi asked, rising from the ground.

"Head west and see if there are any villages, destroyed or otherwise," Ryuu said. "If you find one and it's not destroyed, begin to make your way clockwise to the north, using this village as the center. if you find any destroyed villages, return to us and guide us there. That will give us our trail. We'll be heading east, then circling south."

Tobi nodded and sank into the ground. Ryuu picked up Kabuto again, and Fu picked up Tayuya. Then, they left, heading East. They spread out a few miles to search more area, where as Tobi could travel fast enough through the ground to search his entire area in about the same time. After they had made an entire half-circuit, however, they returned tot he village, landing just as Tobi rose from the ground.

"Nothing," Tobi said.

"Us either," Ryuu said. "The thing just disappeared."

"What now?" Tayuya asked.

Ryuu was silent for a long while. "I'm going to send Yomo to give Lady Tsunade an update and request further orders. After that, we'll see."

The others nodded and Ryuu reverse summoned Yomo, as he had done when they were first following the trail through the trees. Then, they waited. After a few minutes, Yomo reappeared and Ryuu removed a scroll from his leg, reading it, then burning it, as per the instructions on the note.

"She said to search a wider area," Ryuu said. "However, if I deem the trail has gone cold, we're to return to the Hidden Leaf."

The others nodded and Ryuu pulled out a map, marking the Land of Ogres, and the nations around it, into three sections. They divvied up the responsibilities, then left, Ryuu once again with Kabuto and Fu once again with Tayuya. However, as they searched, they found nothing but intact towns, and when they stopped to ask around, no one had seen anything flying around. They searched for several days before all meeting back up in the middle again. Ryuu sighed, sending a final report to Tsunade before they all started back to the village. Ryuu sighed. This was going to get really bad, really fast. He could feel it. Now if only he could feel where the monster was so he could kill it, his powers of foresight would actually be worth something.

"So what now?" Kabuto asked. "Are we really letting that thing roam around free?"

"I don't like it," Ryuu said. "But until it shows up, we can't do anything about it."

"So yes, then," Tayuya said, then sighed. "I hate failing missions."

"No kidding," Ryuu nodded. "And this one's almost literally going to come back to bite us in the ass."

"I hope not," Kabuto said. "I hope whatever it is dies."

"Really now, Kabuto," Fu said. "You should learn to keep your hopes reasonable."

"Everyone has to reach once in a while," Kabuto shrugged.

"So, Kabuto," Ryuu said. "That other place where an ANBU died. What can you tell me about it?"

"Orochimaru had a very specific experiment going on there," Kabuto said. "One he meant to use to disrupt the Akatsuki's plans."

"How so?" Ryuu asked.

"He's discovered the Three-tails, free and without a Jinchuriki," Kabuto said.

"And you're just telling us this now!?" Ryuu snapped, stopping.

"Lady Tsunade agreed that it was best to leave the Three-tails in peace for the time being, rather than either angering it and causing it to go on a rampage, or worse, alerting the Akatsuki to its presence," Kabuto said.

Ryuu sighed, nodding. "Fair enough. However, I expect that someone getting close to it may accelerate Orochimaru's plans."

"I believe you're right," Kabuto nodded. "There was a boy Orochimaru was holding who has the ability to summon, and possibly control, the Three-tails. We need to rescue him first. After that, we can deal with the Three-tails as needed."

"And Orochimaru," Ryuu said.

"No," Kabuto said. "Orochimaru is a separate matter. He will not be at that hideout."

"Okay," Ryuu nodded. "Any idea who took over for you?"

"A few, yes," Kabuto nodded. "None of the options very important for us. At best they'll simply be medical ninja, and will probably not be as well informed as I was."

Ryuu nodded. "Let's get back to the village quickly. I have a feeling Kakashi will need our help dealing with the Three-tails."

The others all nodded and he and Fu sped up, heading back to the village at just below their top speed.

* * *

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